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PLOUGHED  UNDER 

The  Story  of  an  Indian  Chief 

TOLD   BY  HIMSELF 

WITH  AN   INTRODUCTION 

BY   INSHTA   THEAMBA 
(BRIGHT  EYES) 


NEW  YORK: 

FORDS,  HOWARD,  &  HULBERT. 
1*81. 


COPYRIGHT,  1881. 
FORDS,  HOWARD,  &  HULBERT. 


INTRODUCTION 

BY  INSHTA  THEAMBA. 

(" Bright  £yes.") 


THE  white  people  have  tried  to  solve  the  "  Indian 
Question  "  by  commencing  with  the  proposition  that 
the  Indian  is  different  from  all  other  human  beings. 

With  some  he  is  a  peculiar  being,  surrounded  by  a 
halo  of  romance,  who  has  to  be  set  apart  on  a  reserva 
tion  as  something  sacred,  who  has  to  be  fed,  clothed, 
and  taken  care  of  by  a  guardian  or  agent,  by  whom  he 
is  not  to  be  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  his 
conquerors  lest  it  might  degrade  him ;  his  conquerors 
being  a  people  who  hold  their  civilization  above  that 
of  all  others  on  the  earth,  because  of  their  perfect 
freedom  and  liberty.  "  The  contact  of  peoples  is  the 
best  of  all  education."  And  this  the  ward  is  denied. 

With  others  again  he  is  a  savage,  a  sort  of  monster 
without  %any  heart  or  soul  or  mind,  but  whose  whole 
being  is  full  of  hatred,  ferocity,  and  blood-thirstiness. 
They  suppose  him  to  have  no  family  affections,  no 
love  for  his  home,  none  of  the  sensitive  feelings  that 
all  other  human  beings  presumably  have.  This  class 
demand  his  extermination. 

££8840 


4  PLOUGHED    UNDER. 

Under  the  shelter  of  the  conflicting  laws  imposed 
by  these  two  extreme  views,  the  clever  operators  of 
the  Indian  Ring — not  caring  what  he  is,  but  looking 
on  him  for  what  he  has,  and  the  opportunities  lie 
affords,  as  legitimate  prey — pounce  on  him  and  use  him 
as  a  means  of  obtaining  contracts,  removals,  land 
speculations,  and  appropriations  which  are  to  be 
stolen.  They  tear  him  from  his  home,  disregarding 
all  the  rights  of  his  manhood. 

Allow  an  Indian  to  suggest  that  the  solution  of  the 
vexed  "Indian  Question"  is  Citizenship ',  with  all  its 
attending  duties  and  responsibilities,  as  well  as  the 
privileges  of  protection  under  the  law,  by  which  the 
Indian  could  appeal  to  the  courts,  when  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  as  every  citizen  can,  and 
would  be  allowed  the  opportunity  to  make  something 
of  himself,  in  common  with  every  other  citizen.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  lands  which  the  Indian  holds,  he 
would  have  been  a  citizen  long  before  the  negro  ;  and 
in  this  respect  his  lands  have  been  a  curse  to  him 
rather  than  a  blessing.  But  for  them,  he  would  have 
been  insignificant  in  the  eyes  of  this  powerful  and 
wealthy  nation,  and  allowed  to  live  in  peace  and 
quietness,  without  attracting  the  birds  of  prey  forever 
hovering  over  the  helpless ;  then  his  citizenship 
would  have  protected  him,  as  it  does  any  other  ordi 
nary  human  being.  As  a  ''ward,"  or  extraordinary 
being,  if  he  is  accused  of  committing  a  crime,  this 
serves  as  a  pretext  of  war  for  his  extermination,  and 
his  father,  mother,  sister,  brother,  wife,  or  people 
are  involved  in  one  common  ruin ;  while  if  he  were 


IN  TROD  UCTION.  5 

simply  a  citizen,  he  would  be  individually  arrested  by 
the  sheriff,  and  tried  in  court,  and  either  protected  in 
his  innocence  or  convicted  and  punished  in  his  guilt. 
The  Indian,  as  a  "ward,"  or  extraordinary  being, 
affords  employment  to  about  ten  thousand  employes 
in  the  Indian  Bureau,  with  all  the  salaries  attached,  as 
well  as  innumerable  contractors,  freighters,  and  land 
speculators.  He  requires  also,  periodically,  immense 
appropriations  to  move  him  from  place  to  place. 
Imagine  a  company  of  Irish  immigrants  requiring  from 
Congress  an  appropriation  to  move  them  from  one 
part  of  the  country  to  another  !  No  wonder  that  the 
powers-that-be  refuse  to  recognize  the  Indian  as  an 
ordinary  human  being,  but  insist  that  he  be  taken  care 
of  and  "protected"  by  the  decisions  of  the  Indian 
Bureau.  In  this  "  land  of-  freedom  and  liberty"  an 
Indian  has  to  get  the  permission  of  an  agent  before 
he  can  either  step  off  his  reservation  or  allow  any 
civilization  to  enter  it ;  and  this,  under  heavy  penalty 
for  disobedience.  In  this  land,  where  the  boast  is 
made  that  all  men  are  "  equal  before  the  law,"  the 
Indian  cannot  sue  in  the  courts  for  his  life,  liberty,  or 
property,  because,  forsooth,  the  Indian  is  not  a  "  per 
son,"  as  the  learned  attorney  employed  by  a  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  argued  for  five  hours,  when  an  Indian 
appealed  to  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  for  his  liberty. 

The  key  to  this  complicated  problem  is,  simply, 
To  recognize  the  Indian  as  a  person  and  a  citizen, 
give  him  a  title  to  his  lands,  and  place  him  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  courts,  as  an  individual.  It  is 
absurd  for  a  great  government  like  this  to  say  that  it 


6  PLOUGH  ED    UNDER. 

cannot  manage  a  little  handful  of  helpless  people, 
who  are  but  as  an  atom  in  the  mass  of  fifty  millions 
of  people,  unless  they  treat  them  as  "wards." 

No,  the  Indian  is  not  an  extraordinary  being ;  he  is 
of  the  race  of  man,  and,  like  others,  is  the  creature 
of  his  surroundings.  If  you  would  know  something 
of  what  he  is,  of  how  his  spirit  and  his  disposition 
are  affected  by  his  circumstances,  read  the  record 
of  life  —  its  loves  and  hates  —  here  set  forth.  As 
the  hero  of  this  story  says,  "  If  those  of  our  race 
who  have  been  slain  by  the  white  man  should  spring 
up  from  the  sod  as  trees,  there  would  be  one  broad 
moaning  forest  from  the  great  river  to  the  sea."  The 
incidents  of  this  tale  are  based  upon  easily  authenti 
cated  facts — most  of  them,  indeed,  being  matters  of 
official  record.  The  lines  are  not  too  deep  nor  the 
colors  too  strong.  It  would  be  impossible  to  exag 
gerate  the  sufferings  imposed  upon  my  people  by  the 
cruel  greed  of  their  plunderers.  As  the  author  has  so 
graphically  depicted,  the  huge  plough  of  the  "  Indian 
system"  has  run  for  a  hundred  years,  beam  deep, 
turning  down  into  the  darkness  of  the  earth  every 
hope  and  aspiration  which  we  have  cherished.  The 
sod  is  rich  with  the  blood  of  human  beings  of  both 
races.  What  sort  of  a  harvest,  think  you,  will  it  yield 
in  the  future  to  the  nation  whose  hand  has  guided 
this  plough? 


PREFACE. 


IN  committing  this  little  story  to  the  public,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  assure  that  honorable  body  that  the  tragic  events 
described  are  in  no  case  overdrawn.  While  the  narrative 
has  not  followed  the  history  of  any  one  tribe,  all  the 
scenes  depicted  have  been  taken  from  the  great  unwrit 
ten  volume  of  Indian  suffering. 

The  dialogue  contains  the  substance  of  the  discussions 
around  the  camp-fires  and  in  the  lodges  and  homes  of  all 
the  Indians  of  the  great  North-west.  The  Indian  lan 
guage  is  so  full  of  metaphor,  that  to  preserve  anything 
like  a  true  conception  of  Indian  speech,  the  seemingly 
excessive  richness  of  its  coloring  must  be  preserved. 

The  title  will  suggest  a  figure  familiar  to  every  one 
who  has  had  the  least  experience  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
The  advancing  ploughshare  turns  under  the  wild  and 
beautiful  growths  of  the  native  sod  to  enrich  the  soil  and 
open  the  way  for  new  seeds  and  growths.  This  is  bene 
ficial  and  necessary  in  the  case  of  vegetable  life ;  but  it  is 
a  fair  question  whether  it  is  so  in  the  case  of  the  human 
bodies  and  souls  that  go  down  under  the  advancing 
ploughshare  of  American  civilization  on  the  Western 
plains.  It  is  worthy  the  consideration  of  the  intelligence 
and  humanity  of  this  land  whether  there  may  not  be 
some  material  in  the  Indian  race  which  is  worth  saving 
and  improving,  even  for  the  sake  of  the  white  race  and 
its  civilization.  To  assist  in  the  formation  of  right  con 
clusions  in  respect  to  these  weighty  matters,  the  following 
story  has  been  written. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FIRST    PUZZLE. 

MY  earliest  memories  are  concerned  with  the  shining 
of  a  great  river,  which,  flowing  by  the  spot  where  our 
simple  village  stood,  gave  sport  to  the  boys,  fear  to  the 
girls,  toil  to  the  men,  and  food  to  all.  By  the  banks  of 
this  stream,  with  my  feet  in  its  current,  I  would  sit  for 
hours,  and  it  was  to  me  the  suggestion  and  type  of 
thoughts  I  could  never  hope  in  our  simple  language  to 
express;  I  doubt  if  they  could  be  defined  even  in  the 
sweetest  and  most  powerful  words  that  other  peoples 
know  so  well  how  to  use.  Sometimes  I  would  pick  a 
dandelion  and  fling  it  out  into  the  swirl,  and  how  strangely 
I  felt  as  I  saw  it  sweep  dancing  away  !  Or  I  would  lose 
my  arrowhead  in  its  quicksands  and  would  forget  to  search 
or  even  weep  for  it,  because  of  the  flood  of  strange  medi 
tations  that  would  come  over  me.  Or  I  would  lay  my 
cheek  on  the  grassy  bank,  my  eyes  on  a  line  with 
the  river's  surface ;  and  usually  at  such  times  there  was 
another  cheek,  a  softer  one  than  mine,  on  the  grass  beside 
mine — and  I  know  not  what  made  me  think  of  rushing 
down  great  lengths  of  time  with  her  by  my  side,  of  strug 
gling  with  other  men  when  I  should  be  a  man,  of  going 
into  still  places  and  then  into  stormy  places,  and  at  last 
coming  to  a  wide,  beautiful  quiet. 

Our  village,  at  the  time  of  my  boyhood,  was  built 
under  great  trees  whose  whispers  at  night  put  us  to  sleep 
and  whose  laughter  in  the  fresh  morning  breeze  wakened 
us.  The  lands  of  my  fathers  stretched  away  for  many 
miles  to  another  great  river,  but  it  was  the  custom  of  my 


12  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

people  to  live  clustered  together,  in  this  one  most  beauti- 
•*  1  fulcgot  oflaH,  for  mutual  happiness  and  protection.  Our 
Tathers'  had  lived  upon  this  spot  for  so  many  years  that 
;  \\  :  o>i^c51d^st.\tracf{tions  spake  not  of  their  coming— their 
' 'grabs' -on 'the' neighboring  hill  far  outnumbered  the 
members  of  our  tribe  who  now  lived  or  could  live  for 
many  years.  They  had  mostly  fed  upon  buffalo-meat  from 
the  prairies  and  fish  from  the  river;  but  in  addition  to 
these,  which  were  now  becoming  scarce,  we  had  potatoes 
and  grain  from  our  own  lands,  cultivated  by  our  toil.  How 
we  came  to  plough  the  earth  and  raise  corn  upon  it,  mar 
ring  beauty  for  utility's  sake,  was  told  to  me  when  I  was 
of  years  to  understand  by  Um-pan-nez-zhe,  or  "  Standing 
Elk"  as  the  white  man  would  call  him,  who  was  the  "  wise 
man"  of  our  tribe. 

"Some  years  ago,"  he  said,  as  we  sat  under  the  deep 
shade  of  a  tree  and  he  made  a  new  bow  for  me  while  I 
whittled  the  arrow,  "there  came  a  white  man  to  our 
tepees,*  and  we  received  him  as  a  brother.  His  hair  was 
white  as  yonder  foam  upon  the  Missouri.  His  form  was 
bent  by  the  winds  of  many  years.  But  his  words  were 
soft  and  sweet  as  the  rippling  of  Niobrara  over  the  sand. 
In  his  hand  he  brought  The  Book,  the  holy  teachings  of 
which  were  like  the  gentle  fall  of  rain,  causing  to  spring 
•  up  from  our  hearts  grains  and  flowers  whose  seeds  had 
long  lain  there.  Our  fathers  had  dim  traditions  of  all 
the  good  man  taught,  but  the  words  of  the  holy  Book 
made  these  buried  sproutings  to  rise  and  bud.  He  gath 
ered  the  chiefs  and  head  men  of  our  tribe  together  and 
told  them  of  Wakanda,  whom  the  white  men  call  God. 
The  chiefs  reverently  told  him  that  they  and  their  fathers 
had  always  known  and  worshiped  Wakanda,  who  was 

*  Tents. 


THE   FIRST  PUZZLE.  13 

the  kind  Father  of  red  men  as  well  as  white.  Then  the 
good  man  told  them  of  the  wrongfulness  of  anger,  lying, 
and  revenge,  and  the  chiefs  said  they  had  known  all  this 
too.  But  when  he  told  them  of  Wakanda's  Son,  who 
loved  the  simple-hearted  and  the  poor  and  died  for  them, 
our  fathers  wept  and  said,  '  We  had  hoped  for  such  an 
E-Ka-gah,or  "  Friend,"  but  we  knew  not  he  was  ours.' 
For  many  days  the  good  man  staid  with  our  people,  and 
taught  us  how  to  build  these  houses  of  the  logs  felled 
from  the  brook-sides.  He  told  us  many  of  the  strange 
ways  of  white  men,  who  live  in  close  and  dirty  cities,  and 
many  of  whom  have  never  felt  the  sweet  breeze  of  the 
prairies  on  their  cheeks,  or  watched  the  scarlet  bursting 
of  a  blizzard-storm.  He  chided  us  for  not  plowing  the 
ground  and  raising  corn,  and  seemed  to  think  his  people 
were  wiser  than  ours  that  they  did  so.  But  our  chiefs 
said  that  their  fathers  had  raised  corn  upon  that  continent 
before  white  man's  foot  had  pressed  it.  That  we  had 
departed  from  their  ways  was  a  matter  of  proud  choice. 
'Our  fathers,' they  said,  'were  like  the  prairie-dogs  who 
burrow  into  the  ground  on  one  spot  to  gain  their  food. 
We  are  like  the  eagles  who  in  unchained  liberty  snatch 
their  prey  from  the  foamy  tops  of  river-waves.  We  might 
be  squaws  to  dig,  we  choose  to  be  free.'  And  there  was 
like  to  be  hatred  between  the  chiefs  and  the  good  man  ; 
but  his  face  was  so  calm  and  he  showed  so  well  how  strong 
it  is  to  forgive  that  instantly  there  was  peace.  Then  he 
pointed  out,  in  words  as  cooling  as  balsam-salve,  how  the 
game  was  disappearing  from  the  divides  and  how  the 
Hu-hxi*  were  netted,  and  so  slaughtered,  in  every  stream, 
and  how  the  Ma-chiit  was  seldom  met  in  the  everglades, 
and  how  the  Um-pan  \  and  Dta  §  no  longer  swarmed  in 

*Fish.  fBear.  J  Elk.  §  Buffalo. 


14  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

droves  upon  the  wide  prairies,  and  how  the  white  men 
were  pushing  on  to  hem  us  in,  so  that  a  fierce  necessity 
was  on  the  red  men  to  adopt  the  ways  of  the  stronger 
race.  At  these  words,  Eagle  Wing,  thy  father,  who  was 
a  young  man  then,  started  up  and  said :  '  Better  to  die 
than  be  as  squaws.'  But  the  oldest  chief  of  all,  Stern 
Face,  who  has  since  been  laid  with  his  fathers,  an 
swered,  « Thou  art  a  young  man,  Eagle  Wing.  Upon 
thy  skirts  even  now  hang  the  trophies  of  the  chase. 
Thou  hast  but  one  child :  dost  thou  wish  to  see  him 
die?  We  might  face  death  ourselves  rather  than  be 
oppressed,  but  shall  we  bring  worse  than  death  upon 
our  little  ones  who  smile  at  us  and  reach  up  their  soft 
hands  to  pat  our  cheeks  ? '  The  young  men  could  not 
answer  when  the  chief  had  spoken,  but  for  that  day  and 
for  many  days  they  preserved  a  sullen  silence  ;  and  for  the 
first  time  there  were  anxious  faces  in  our  village.  But  the 
counsel  of  the  old  chiefs  prevailed,  and  the  good  mission 
ary  set  about  teaching  us  to  leave,  as  he  called  it,  the  state 
of  savages." 

When  Standing  Elk  had  reached  this  point  in  his  story 
I  dropped  my  arrow  and,  springing  up,  exclaimed  : 

"  Savages  !  How  can  they  rightly  call  us  savages  ?  Is 
it  because  we  prefer  the  bounding  air  to  their  shut-up 
houses  ?  Is  it  because  the  narrow  ways  of  their  kind  of 
life  are  hateful  to  us?  I  have  heard  of  it  all.  Is  my 
mother  a  savage  because  she  nursed  me  in  a  bed  of  wild 
mosses  instead  of  a  covered  mattress,  and  gave  me  dande 
lions  and  wild  roses  instead  of  painted  balls  for  playthings  ? 
So  long  as  we  do  not  interfere  with  the  happiness  of  others, 
who  can  call  us  savages  without  sinning  against  us  and 
himself  as  well?" 

"  Hush  !  my  passionate  boy,"  the  wise  man  said.  "  There 
are  some  having  the  dusky  skin  who  have  committed 


THE  FIRST  PUZZLE.  15 

deeds  of  violence  when  maddened  by  the  exactions  of  the 
white  race,  and  they  are  taken  as  examples  of  us  all. 
Nay,  there  are  some  tribes  who  are  bitterly  hostile  to  the 
whites  and  lose  no  chance  of  harming  them;  we  friendly 
tribes- are  measured  by  those  "hostiles"— although,  it  is 
true,  the  white  man  treats  the  hostiles  with  more  consid 
eration  than  those  who  befriend  him." 

"  This  is  a  greater  evil  still,"  I  cried.  "  That  there  be 
wild-beets  which  poison  and  destroy  should  not  be  held 
against  the  healthful  roots.  And  are  there  not  some 
white  hands  which  have  robbed  and  murdered,  and  are 
all  of  their  race  held  guilty?" 

"My  son,"  the  wise  man  said,  "the  world  can  see 
but  one  character  among  all  Indian  races.  It  is  for 
you  to  bear  your  destiny  as  Wakanda  has  ordered  it. 
They  are  the  stronger  race.  The  weak  rush  must  go 
down  before  the  mighty  wind.  Meanwhile  we  have  our 
lands  secure.  Our  fathers  have  always  dwelt  upon  them 
and  called  them  theirs,  and  the  great  nation  within  whose 
bounds  we  live  have  in  many  treaties  acknowledged  our 
claim  to  them.  Let  us  cultivate  the  soil  as  we  have  been 
taught  by  the  good  Wa-ga-za*  to  whose  word  you  are  so 
much  opposed.  He  marked  out  the  trail  which  will  lead 
you  to  happiness ;  follow  it  like  a  brave  and  faithful  son 
of  a  brave  and  noble  chief." 

For  many  days — oh  for  so  many  days !  did  I  think  of 
these  words  of  the  wise  man,  and  they  became  vividly  real 
to  me  when  certain  terrible  events,  which  I  must  tell  you 
of,  had  taken  place.  But  at  this  boyhood-period  of  my 
life  every  day  was  a  constant  joy,  increased  rather  than 
diminished  by  the  sober  thoughts  awakened  by  such  con 
versations  as  this  with  the  wise  man. 

*  Missionary. 


1 6  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

Our  village  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  circle,  and  the 
large,  clear,  open  space  left  in  the  very  heart  of  all  was 
reserved  for  a  common  play-ground.  Here  the  boys 
learned  to  shoot  their  arrows,  with  such  accuracy  that  a 
little  daisy  from  the  plain  could  be  cut  in  twain  ;  and  one 
part  of  it  was  to  be  kept  by  the  archer  himself,  while  the 
other  must  be  laid  in  the -lap  of  the  little  maiden  whom 
he  loved  the  best  and  whose  bright  black  eyes  had  been 
watching  timidly  and  anxiously  the  whole  test.  Here  the 
older  youths  matched  their  athletic  skill  in  many  a  leap, 
handspring,  and  race.  Here  they  led  their  beautiful 
ponies  and  matched  them  against  each  other  for  speed  and 
spirit.  How  their  smooth  flanks  would  shine,  and  how 
their  intelligent  eyes  would  twinkle,  and  how  their  strong 
muscles  would  fling  them  over  the  sod,  and  with  what 
prodigious  leaps  would  they  clear  the  highest  obstructions 
placed  in  their  way !  How  the  riders  would  bend  them 
selves  on  every  side,  now  standing  upright  on  the  ponies' 
rumps,  now  lying  prone  on  their  backs,  and  now  stooping 
to  pick  hats  or  moccasins  or  even  arrows  from  the  dust 
beneath  their  ponies'  flying  feet !  And  then  after  the 
sport,  how  those  whom  they  loved  would  deck  ponies  and 
riders  in  their  brightest  ribbons  and  grasses,  and  timidly 
smile  their  admiration ! 

But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  our  happiness  was  in 
association  with  the  beautiful  world  which  Wakanda  had 
made.  Oh,  how  we  loved  the  gentle  voices  of  the  grove, 
and  the  tender  murmurs  of  the  tall  wild-grass,  the  sweet 
shining  of  moon-rays,  and  the  rumble  of  the  storm! 
What  long  excursions  would  we  take — whole  troops  of  us 
— to  count  the  spears  on  the  bunches  of  buffalo-grass,  and 
chase  the  butterfly  to  the  woods  or  the  prairie-dog  to  his 
burrow,  and  watch  the  green  eyes  of  the  turtle  sunning 
himself  on  the  logs,  and  plait  our  hair  with  sweet  scent- 


THE  FIRST  PUZZLE.  l^ 

ed  grass,  until,  worn  out  with  such  activity,  we  would 
lie  upon  the  banks  overlooking  a  spring  and  watch  the 
bubbles  bursting  on  its  surface.  And  when  at  evening 
we  sat  around  the  great  camp-fire  and  told  our  mothers  of 
the  day's  sport,  they  would  tell  us  that  Wakanda  made 
all  these  beautiful  things  and  we  must  love  them  for  His 
sake  and  Him  for  theirs.  And  our  fathers  and  brothers 
would  point  out  to  us  on  their  fingers  how  much  the 
corn  had  grown  in  a  day,  and  some  one  would  take  The 
Book  which  the  good  missionary  had  left  and  read  to 
us  the  sweet  words  of  Wakanda's  Son.  Then  when  I  laid 
myself  down  to  sleep  I  would  puzzle  myself  with  the 
ever-recurring  question :  "  Is  this  to  be  a  savage  ?" 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON    THE    PRAIRI  E. 

I  HAVE  spoken  of  the  softer  cheek  than  mine  which 
often  lay  upon  the  bank  beside  me  when  I  thought,  and 
surely  you  who  know  anything  of  that  love  which  must 
be  the  same  in  every  race  have  already  guessed  that  that 
cheek  belonged  to  the  sweet  maiden  I  loved  best.  Her 
father  was  Standing  Elk,  the  wise  man,  and  truly  he  was 
never  wiser  than  when  he  called  her  Wagh-ta,  or  "  Prairie 
Flower."  To  my  young  eyes  she  was  fairer  than  the 
morning,  and  her  eyes  outshone  the  stars  of  night.  Her 
form  was  as  slender  and  shapely  as  the  spring-time  growth 
of  the  mountain  aspen,  and  her  footfall  gentler  than  the 
dew  on  the  wild-rose.  The  young  doves  hatched  together 
in  one  swinging  nest  upon  the  birch-bough  are  mated 
from  that  moment,  and  when  the  one  is  absent  the  other 
can  but  sit  with  breast  to  the  wind  and  mourn ;  thus  it 
seemed  to  us  we  had  loved  forever,  and  neither  could  be 
happy  alone. 

There  was  one  line  of  events  in  our  lives  involving  us 
in  a  common  peril,  and  bringing  to  us  a  common  deliver 
ance,  which  seemed  to  unite  us  with  a  bond  of  renewed 
life  almost  as  strong  as  our  spontaneous  love.  I  must  tell 
the  story  to  you  as  I  heard  it,  mentioning  also  my  own 
vivid  memories  of  such  things  as  would  strike  a  boy's 
fancy. 

When  I  was  about  eight  years  of  age,  my  father,  Khe- 
tha-a-hi,  or  Eagle  Wing,  determined  to  take  the  branch 
of  our  tribe  of  which  he  was  chief  upon  a  grand  buffalo- 
hunt.  The  plans  were  talked  over  for  many  nights 


ON    THE  PRAIRIE.  19 

around  the  camp-fires,  and  when  at  last  the  day  came  for 
the  start  everything  had  been  carefully  arranged.  There 
were  about  one  hundred  warriors,  all  mounted  on  their 
fleetest  ponies,  drawn  up  upon  the  plain  when  the  moment 
came  to  start,  Other  ponies  were  hitched  to  the  tent- 
poles,  across  which  were  stretched  skins,  and  the 
children  and  the  camping  outfit  were  then  placed  upon 
these  drags.  My  father,  when  we  were  on  the  way, 
rode  at  the  head  of  the  little  band  on  a  magnificent  horse, 
so  white  that  the  foam  from  his  trembling  lips  could  not 
be  detected  when  it  had  fallen  on  his  flanks.  It  was  a 
grand  and  beautiful  sight.  The  horses'  heads  were  decked 
with  ribbons  and  strings  of  wolves'  ears  tipped  with  paint. 
The  warriors  were  dressed  in  their  brightest  garments, 
and  the  children  vied  with  the  birds  in  the  beauty  and 
variety  of  the  feathers  with  which  they  were  adorned. 
On  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  sleds  little  Prairie  Flower 
and  I  were  placed;  and  although  I  was  not  fully  con 
scious  of  it  then,  I  am  quite  sure  now  that  I  needed  no 
other  ornament  than  her  simple  presence  to  make  me  the 
most  attractive  and  envied  of  all.  So  with  shouts  and 
merry  laughter  ;  with  jumping  off  our  sleds  to  pluck  a 
dandelion  or  snatch  a  spread  plover's  wing  from  the  hand 
of  a  comrade  and  then  hastily  springing  to  our  seat  again  ; 
with  many  trials  of  speed  between  the  best  ponies  on  level 
spots ;  with  cautious  reconnoitering  of  wooded  places  to 
see  if  the  Sioux  were  lurking  there ;  with  the  gathering  of 
sticks  beside  the  cool  spring  at  noon  to  roast  the  plover 
or  the  grouse  to  satisfy  our  hunger,  while  the  ponies 
browsed  upon  the  tender  and  savory  grass ;  with  the 
pitching  of  our  camp  in  some  secure  spot  at  nightfall,  to 
rest  after  the  hard  day's  ride  ;  with  the  starting  up  again 
and  speeding  away — when  the  first  streaks  of  blood 
appeared  in  the  East  stabbed  by  the  Sunbeam — with  these 


20  PLOUGHED   UNDER, 

and  a  thousand  other  delights,  gayly  we  went  upon  our 
buffalo-hunt.  Our  course  lay  toward  the  north-west, 
where  great  herds  of  the  noble  game  congregated.  We 
crossed  wide  stretches  of  daisy-dotted  plain  and  many 
little  streams.  I  did  not  then  love,  as  I  have  since  learned 
to  love,  these  gracefully  rolling  prairies,  presenting,  as 
they  do,  so  many  picturesque  views.  How  often  have  I 
sat  with  Prairie  Flower  by  my  side,  and  watched  for  hours, 
that  seemed  but  as  moments,  the  ever-varying  shades  of 
green  upon  those  magnificent  contours,  and  felt  emotions 
that  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  of !  I  loved  it  best  at  evening- 
time,  when  the  wondrous,  untrained  music  of  the  valleys 
was  fully  abroad.  Oh  what  sweet  and  varied  harmonies 
the  winds  of  the  twilight  can  breathe  into  the  swaying 
reeds  and  rushes  which  grow  by  the  watercourses  of  the 
West !  The  heart  of  the  red  man  loves  that  Wa-e  *  well ! 
The  patter  of  frost-drops  upon  the  decaying  fringes  and 
cones  in  the  neighboring  pine-grove  ;  the  thunder  of  the 
stone  dislodged  by  the  badger's  foot  and  sent  bounding 
down  the  hillside  into  the  river  ;  the  whisper  of  the  night- 
wind  in  the  nodding  cups  of  the  prairie  lily  and  ane 
mone  ;  the  crash  of  the  tree  at  whose  root  the  worm  has 
been  gnawing,  and  which  now  is  overblown  to  fall  into 
columnar  decay ;  the  "honk"  of  the  wild  geese  sweeping  in 
triangular  bands  toward  the  south,  and  the  startled  cry  of 
the  wild  ducks  rising  out  of  the  swamps ;  the  splash  of 
the  beaver's  tail  as  he  builds  his  watery  home  ;  the  whistle 
of  the  thrush,  the  drumming  of  the  prairie-cock's  wings, 
and  the  occasional  whirr  of  the  belated  quail  hastening 
back  to  her  young ;  the  snort  of  the  elk,  the  barking  of  the 
wolf,  and  the  voice  of  man, — all  these,  and  a  thousand 
other  strains,  grave  and  gay,  shrill  and  melodious,  enter 

*  Music. 


ON    THE  PRAIRIE.  21 

into  this  song  of  nature,  so  sublime  that  no  sound  of 
forest  or  valley,  or  creeping  thing  or  fowl  of  the  air,  can 
be  out  of  time  or  tune  to  it  or  mar  in  the  least  its  har 
mony.  Wakanda  smiled  and  the  melodies  began.  All 
this  I  loved  and  Prairie  Flower  loved,  for  I  loved  her 
loves  and  she  mine. 

In  the  progress  of  our  hunt  toward  the  north-west,  we 
soon  reached  a  region  where  increasing  caution  was 
necessary,  as  we  were  approaching  the  hunting-grounds 
of  the  Sioux.  This  powerful  tribe  was  at  war  with  all 
others  of  my  people.  Deadly  feuds  had  for  many  genera 
tions  existed  between  them  and  all  neighboring  tribes, 
and  many  had  been  the  romantic  and  bloody  encounters 
betweeen  members  of  the  opposed  parties.  The  cause  of 
the  difficulty  was  the  great  pride  of  the  Sioux  chiefs  to 
unite  all  Indian  races  under  their  leadership  and  control, 
and  hence  the  tribes  which  refused  to  recognize  them  as 
supreme  were  treated  as  rebels.  The  tribe  of  which  my 
father  was  one  chief  had  for  generations  been  distin 
guished  for  its  scorn  of  the  Sioux's  pretensions  and  its 
successful  conflict  with  them.  It  was  known  to  us  that 
throughout  the  great  Sioux  nation  runners  were  sent  pro 
claiming  that  whoever  would  bring  in  the  scalp  of  Eagle 
Wing  should  be  rewarded  with  the  chieftainship  of  one  of 
the  inferior  bands.  This  of  course  increased  the  desire  to 
encounter  and  kill  him,  but,  such  is  the  strange  nature  of 
my  people,  it  also  increased  my  father's  importance  in  the 
tribe,  and  his  own  and  his  followers'  willingness  to  be 
encountered.  There  was  on  both  sides  a  thirst  for  con 
flict  such  as  is  felt  when  in  the  forest  glades  in  the  time  of 
mating  there  is  a  sudden  meeting  of  rival  Um-pan-nu-gas.* 

*This  name  is  used  by  the  Indians  to  distinguish  the  elk  bucks  in  the 
spring  time,  when  mating  occurs.  They  are  then  supposed  to  possess 
souls,  and  on  no  account  must  one  of  them  be  killed. 


22  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

On  this  trip,  therefore,  my  father's  warriors  were  magnifi 
cently  mounted,  and  armed,  as  well  as  their  means  would 
permit,  with  rifles  and  our  more  primitive  weapons, 
which  are  almost  as  effective  in  skillful  hands — bows 
of  great  length  and  power,  tomahawks  as  sharp  as 
wild-grass-blades,  and  long  hunting-knives.  Runners 
were  constantly  kept  in  advance,  every  spot  available  for 
an  ambush  was  carefully  examined,  and  at  night  watches 
were  posted  to  prevent  a  surprise. 

There  is  one  other  circumstance  I  must  tell  you  of 
before  you  can  understand  the  animosity  exhibited  in  the 
scenes  I  am  about  to  describe.  In  all  the  wars  with  the 
Sioux  our  people  had  championed  the  cause  of  the  whites, 
and  many  were  the  settlers  who  in  those  early  days  had 
taken  refuge  in  our  wigwams  from  bitter  pursuit.  Our 
tribe  had  never  been  at  war  with  the  whites.  The  chiefs 
had  always  been  of  the  opinion  that  the  only  safe  policy 
for  us,  as  a  weaker  nation,  was  to  preserve  the  utmost 
faith  with  the  whites,  and  our  hope  was  that  this  would 
recommend  us  to  their  mercy.  The  sickly  or  wounded 
wolf  must  not  bark  too  noisily,  else  all  the  others  of  the 
pack  will  pounce  upon  it  and  tear  it  rib  from  rib.  As  we 
thus  lifted  our  tomahawks  in  defense  of  the  settlers,  the 
Sioux  regarded  us  as  betrayers  of  the  glory  of  the  Indian 
race,  and  hence  their  hatred  for  us  was  bitter.  When  the 
prairie-dog  seeks  to  defend  the  little  bird  who  nestled  with 
him  in  his  home,  the  rattlesnake  conceives  of  both  as 
equally  enemies,  and  drives  them  equally  forth.  It  was  so 
with  the  Sioux's  hatred  of  us.  On  the  side  of  my  people 
the  feeling  was  strong  that  it  was  not  treacherous  in  us 
and  our  fathers  towards  the  Sioux  that  we  had  never 
entered  into  treaty  with  them  to  destroy  the  whites.  We 
thought  we  had  the  right  of  all  free  things  to  choose  who 
should  be  our  friends  and  who  our  enemies;  and  as  we 


ON    THE  PRAIRIE.  23 

had  chosen  to  be  friends  with  the  whites  and  to  fight  the 
Sioux',  we  stood  ready  to  make  our  boast  good  with  our 
blood.  Thus  the  hatred  was  bitter  on  both  sides — they 
calling  us  false  as  the  sneaking  badger,  we  calling  them 
liars  and  base  as  the  sand-hill  lynx.  Many  bleeding 
wounds  and  ghastly  corpses  on  both  sides  called  for  bitter 
revenge,  and  whenever  their  followers  and  ours  met, 
whether  singly  or  in  companies,  there  was  instant  battle 
and  no  backs  turned.  But  now  to  my  story. 

One  lovely  afternoon  my  father  had  taken  me  to  ride 
before  him  on  his  pony's  neck,  from  which  station  of 
high  honor  I  was  hailing  my  less  fortunate  companions. 
Suddenly  my  father's  face,  which  had  been  smiling  and 
gentle  as  the  afternoon  itself,  was  clouded  with  a  look  of 
awful  hatred,  with  tracings  still  of  a  fierce  delight.  In  the 
crushing  of  a  dandelion  he  had  seen  the  trail  of  the  Sioux. 
With  one  majestic  wave  of  his  hand  he  stopped  the  ad 
vance  of  his  band. 

"  Boy,"  he  said  sternly  to  me,  "  there  is  bloody  work 
here  to  be  done."  With  these  words  he  lifted  me  from 
the  pony's  neck  and  dropped  me  to  the  earth. 

His  followers  gathered  breathlessly  around  the  crushed 
flower,  which  seemed  to  contain  tidings  of  some  awful  woe. 

"Call  in  the  runners,"  my  father  said,  "and  let  watchers 
be  hidden  on  every  side." 

When  Great  Bear,  the  most  trusted  of  the  runners, 
made  his  appearance,  my  father  eyed  him  as  if  he  were  an 
inexcusable  culprit,  and  sternly  said  : 

"If  Ma-chu-ta-ga*  sees  not  such  prints  as  these,  whom 
can  we  trust  ?  Do  you  pass  such  sod -cuts  with  a  dreamy 
eye?" 

"  Xo   one,"  Great    Bear   replied,   with  downcast  look, 

*  Great  Bear. 


24  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  could  have  seen  so  slight  a  trail  as  this  save  Khe-tha-a- 
hi  himself." 

"  Thou  art  generally  as  faithful  as  my  own  right  hand," 
my  father  replied  ;  "  see  that  this  happens  not  again.  But 
who  is  this?" 

The  question  was  called  out  by  the  breathless  coming 
of  another  runner,  who  at  a  hundred  lariats'  distance  to 
the  northward  had  skirted  our  little  party's  advance. 
When  he  caught  his  breath  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Two  hundred  Sioux  warriors  are  skulking  down  upon 
us  from  the  north.  I  met  their  runner,  and  his  scalp  is 
mine." 

"  This  shall  be  a  token  of  our  larger  victory,"  my  father 
said.  "  Meanwhile,  be  active.  Get  the  women  and  chil 
dren  into  yonder  hollow  place ;  let  them  hide  behind  the 
bank.  And  let  the  warriors  who  have  squaws-hearts 
crouch  beside  them.  But  you  who  are  brave,  think  of 
what  the  Sioux  have  done,  count  in  your  quiver  an  arrow 
for  every  home  they  have  left  desolate  in  our  tribe,  and 
let  each  arrow  shout  the  U-gtha-a*  as  it  flies!" 

The  greatest  confusion  instantly  began.  It  was  as  if 
the  great  shadow  of  a  hovering  crow  had  been  seen  by  a 
nestful  of  thrushes.  The  wise  and  noble  Standing  Elk 
led  us  to  the  safe  hiding-place  my  father  had  mentioned, 
and  kissing  Prairie  Flower,  left  her  by  my  side.  The  tears 
of  the  gentle  girl  ran  wildly  down  her  cheeks ;  for,  though 
she  knew  not  the  awful  woes  of  war,  her  heart  feared  by 
instinct  its  tumult  and  pain,  as  the  wild  fawn  starts  un 
wittingly  at  the  first  hearing  of  the  voice  of  man.  My 
mother  was  beside  us,  and  was  a  mother  to  both;  for 
little  Prairie  Flower  had  none.  She  held  our  bursting 
pulses  and  bade  us  not  to  fear.  So  from  our  bank  we 

*  War-cry, 


ON    THE  PRAIRIE.  25 

\ 

looked  out  upon  the  hurrying  warriors.  Some  were  daub 
ing  their  faces  with  high-colored  earths.  Some  were 
testing  bow-strings  to  see  that  they  failed  them  not  at  the 
sore  moment.  Some  were  quieting  restless  ponies  by  a 
word  of  tenderness  or  one  of  command.  My  father  had 
placed  upon  his  head  a  peculiar  tuft  of  long  hair — the 
most  sacred  emblem  in  our  whole  tribe,  handed  down  for 
generations  that  no  one  could  count,  and  supposed  by  us 
to  make  victory  sure.  He  had  also  upon  his  head  his  own 
war-bonnet,  made  of  a  crown  of  white  eagle-plumes  and 
two  strings  of  the  same  noble  feathers  hanging  down  his 
back.  Some  of  these  feathers  were  painted  red,  for  our 
custom  was  thus  to  color  one  for  every  wound  the  wearer 
had  received  in  battle,  and  to  place  the  colored  plumes 
opposite  the  part  of  the  body  injured.  Thus  arrayed,  and 
seated  proudly  upon  his  white  pony,  my  father  awaited 
with  perfect  coolness  the  coming  of  the  Sioux;  and,  while 
the  maiden  by  my  side  still  wept  for  harrowed  gentleness, 
I  wept  for  admiration  when  I  saw  him.  Everywhere  the 
wise  Standing  Elk  went  attending  to  the  details  that  were 
regarded  as  beneath  the  notice  of  the  chief,  and  when  he 
came  near  where  Eagle  Wing  sat,  he  whispered  in  his  ear 
a  word  which  was  both  caution  born  of  years,  and 
encouragement  born  of  pride.  One  by  one  the  warriors, 
having  completed  their  war-dress,  arranged  themselves 
in  line  on  each  side  of  my  father,  until  of  all  the  number 
only  one  was  absent — the  rebuked  trail-finder,  Great 
Bear.  The  chief  cast  his  eye  sternly  down  the  line,  and 
demanded  : 

"  Has  our  Ma-chu-ta-ga  gone  into  a  winter  sleep  while 
yet  summer  shines  and  his  enemy,  the  wolf,  steals  upon 
his  young?" 

Either  no  one  dared  to  speak  or  no  one  wished  to 
defend  the  absent  warrior;  at  least  there  was  silence.  A 


26  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

few  moments  passed,  and  then  the  missing  man  suddenly 
appeared  from  behind  a  clump  of  dense  bushes.  I  was 
amazed  to  see  that  he  was  dressed  precisely  like  my 
father,  and  this  at  first  I  supposed  would  be  taken  as  a 
great  insult  by  the  chief.  But  I  afterwards  learned  that 
it  was  the  noblest  and  most  faithful  service  any  warrior 
could  perform  for  his  chief's  safety.  Great  Bear  without 
a  word  mounted  a  white  pony  of  the  shape  and  size  of  that 
my  father  rode,  and  took  a  place  at  the  end  of  the  »line. 
At  the  distance  of  a  few  yards  it  was  impossible  to  distin 
guish  him  from  Eagle  Wing,  and  indeed  the  very  object 
in  his  heart  was  by  his  disguise  to  deceive  the  enemy  and 
draw  shafts  meant  for  my  father's  breast  into  his  own. 
He  had  determined,  out  of  a  real  love  for  his  chief  and  a 
sense  of  deep  shame  that  he  had  been  so  blamed,  to  sacri 
fice  himself,  if  need  be,  for  the  safety  of  his  chief.  When 
the  chief  saw  him,  he  said  softly  to  Standing  Elk  : 

"  My  heart  bleeds,  wise  man  ;  my  heart  bleeds  !  If  it 
were  not  for  the  need  to  preserve  the  high  honor  of  my 
chieftainship  I  would  command  Ma-chu-ta-ga  to  seek  his 
own  safety  by  mingling,  in  common  dress,  with  the  other 
warriors.  Would  that  I  could  take  him  as  a  brother  to 
my  arms  and  forgive  him,  for  he  is  a  noble  man  and,  save 
yourself,  my  best  warrior  !" 

"  It  is  better  thus,"  the  wise  man  answered,  though  tears 
were  in  his  eyes,  for  Great  Bear  was  his  younger  and  well- 
beloved  brother.  And  so  they  awaited  the  coming  of  the 
Sioux. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AN    INDIAN     BATTLE. 

I  HAD  but  time  to  kiss  one  tear  from  the  cheek  of  the 
trembling  maiden,  when  the  thrilling  U-gtha-a  of  our  peo 
ple  announced  that  the  enemy  was  in  sight.  I  held  my 
breath  to  hear  the  answering  shout  of  rage  and  defiance, 
but  all  was  still.  The  Sioux  were  either  squaw-hearted  or 
reserved  their  breath  for  the  close  encounter.  From  our 
bank  we  could  now  see  them  riding  forward  in  a  line 
fully  twice  as  long  as  that  my  father's  warriors  formed. 
They  came  in  a  gentle  trot ;  no  weapons  were  visible  about 
them,  and  for  a  moment  my  heart  took  great  leaps  of  joy, 
supposing  that  after  all  the  meeting  would  be  as  one  of 
brothers.  "  Oh,"  I  thought  to  myself,  "  how  much  better 
to  join  hands  instead  of  arrow-tips ;  or,  if  there  must  be 
some  strife,  let  it  be  between  the  fleetest  ponies  down  this 
lovely  valley,  or  between  the  friendly  wrestling  power  of 
the  young  men  upon  this  green  plain  ?"  -  Certainly  it 
would  have  been  a  far  nobler  test  of  relative  prowess ; 
for  when  past  grievances  can  only  be  righted  by  the 
stretching  of  a  row  of  ghastly  corpses  upon  the  grass, 
even  that  fails  to  satisfy  both  tribes,  and  there  are 
new  grievances  to  the  number  of  these  very  corpses, 
which  must  be  avenged  in  future  encounters.  War  is  sad 
and  foolish  enough, 

However,  the  Sioux  came  quietly  forward,  and,  though 
my  father's  followers  taunted  them  with  cowardice  rnd 
treachery  by  turns,  shouting  "  Coo  !  coo  ! "  *  until  the 

»  *"  Coward!  coward  1" 


28  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

very  sand-ridges  echoed,  they  revealed  no  weapons  and 
made  no  reply.  It  being  the  custom  of  my  people  to  tie 
a  knot  in  a  pony's  mane  every  time  we  can  shout  "  Coo ! " 
to  an  enemy  without  a  reply  being  made,  the  hands  of  our 
warriors  wrere  busy  preparing  these  score-marks  against 
the  Sioux,  and  the  very  ponies  tossed  their  knotted  manes 
in  pride  and  defiance  as  if  they  understood  the  sign. 
I  noticed  on  the  arm  of  each  of  our  enemies  a  folded  red 
blanket,  and  I  innocently  thought  they  were  to  be  presents 
to  our  people.  Still  coming  forward,  they  were  soon  but 
twenty  paces  from  the  nose  of  Eagle  Wing's  horse.  Our 
warriors  had  now  an  arrow  set  in  every  bow,  and  such  as 
had  rifles  sat  with  deliberate  aim  ;  yet,  to  my  great  won 
der,  my  father  did  not  order  them  to  fire.  Evidently  he 
wished  to  scan  to  the  full  the  intent  of  his  enemies,  think 
ing  it  beneath  a  chief  to  take  any  advantage  of  them. 
Now  they  were  within  ten  paces  of  my  father's  line. 
Suddenly  each  of  the  Sioux,  rising  upon  his  horse's  neck, 
whisked  his  blanket  from  his  arm  and  shook  it  full-spread 
and  in  all  its  dazzling  color  before  the  eyes  of  our  ponies. 
Oh  then  was  seen  the  wonderful  command  that  love  exerts 
over  the  animal !  Our  ponies,  trained  to  obey  by  long 
influence  of  kindness,  did  not  wheel  and  dash  away,  as  the 
Sioux  hoped  they  would,  to  render  our  warriors'  backs  an 
easy  mark  for  their  weapons.  Not  a  hoof  moved  from  its 
print  in  the  grassy  sod.  The  poor  creatures,  unused  to 
such  warfare,  trembled  as  the  wild  cottonwood  leaves  do 
before  the  storm ;  many  of  them  crouched  in  mute  fear 
until  their  bellies  touched  the  grass ;  some  snorted  and 
whinnied  wildly,  as  they  do  when  a  grizzly  tramps  upon 
their  lariat ;  but  all  stood  their  ground.  And  before  the 
Sioux  could  drop  their  blankets  and  seize  their  weapons, 
my  father's  voice  was  heard,  shouting : 

"Ke-da!"* 

*  "  Fire." 


AN  IXDIAN  BATTIJ:.  29 

And  many  Sioux  fell  headlong  to  the  earth,  while  the 
survivors,  having  failed  in  their  trusted  device,  were  now 
put  to  personal  skill  and  strength  for  safety.  Then  fol 
lowed  indescribable  confusion.  There  was  wild  scrambling 
of  horses,  there  were  fierce  struggles  of  hand-to-hand 
combatants,  there  was  a  mingling  of  hoarse  battle-cries, 
shouts  of  defiance  and  victory,  screams  of  pain,  whirring 
of  arrows,  and  cracking  of  rifles.  Oh,  the  beautiful  sod 
which  Wakanda  had  made  had  bitter  draught  of  blood 
that  day !  I  hid  my  eyes  to  keep  out  the  dreadful  knowl 
edge  that  brave  men  were  uselessly  killing  each  other,  but 
my  ears  continued  to  tell  the  tidings,  and  when  I  closed 
my  ears  as  well,  my  fancy  took  the  story  up.  How  long  I 
continued  thus  I  know  not,  but  at  last  I  felt  a  touch  upon 
my  arm,  and,  opening  my  eyes,  saw  Prairie  Flower  look 
ing,  too  horrified  to  weep,  into  my  face.  She  gently  took 
my  hands  down  from  my  ears  and  said  : 

"  Oh  listen  to  the  dreadful  shout  of  the  Sioux  !  Thy 
father  is  dead  !  " 

As  she  spoke  a  prolonged  cry  arose,  a  cry  such  as  a 
hundred  mountain  lions  might  make  in  depth  of  hungry 
winter  over  the  carcass  of  an  ox  : 

"  Khe-tha-a-hi  is  dead  !  Khe'-tha-a-hi  is  dead  !  " 

While  the  cry  thus  rang,  a  Sioux  warrior  dashed  by, 
within  six  paces  of  where  we  were  crouching,  and  holding 
aloft  a  bloody  scalp,  he  cried  : 

"  Khe*-tha-a-hi  is  dead  !  My  hand  did  the  deed !  I 
claim  the  prize  !  I  shall  be  a  chief  ! " 

My  heart  sank  within  me  as  I  heard  these  words,  and 
my  poor  mother  wrung  her  hands  and  moaned  in  pitiable 
despair.  The  cry  "  Eagle  Wing  is  dead  !"  was  caught  up 
by  the  enemy  in  every  part  of  the  field,  and  it  seemed  for 
a  moment  as  if  our  fate  were  sealed.  Anxiously  I  cast  my 
eye  over  the  tumult  to  catch,  if  I  might,  any  glimpse  of 


30  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

my  father  to  show  the  shout  untrue.  At  last,  in  the  very 
deadliest  spot  of  all,  I  saw  his  plumed  head-dress  rising 
above  the  multitude  of  those  who  beset  him ;  as  I  have 
seen  the  white  feathers  of  the  eagle's  crown  rising  out  of 
tumultuous  waves  after  having  dashed  after  his  prey. 
And  as  also  the  eagle  might  shake  himself  free  from  the 
scattering  drops  that  still  clung  to  his  wings,  so  my  father 
threw  off  the  Sioux  who  clutched  at  his  arms  and  legs  to 
drag  him  down,  and  running  to  a  high  spot  in  plain  view 
of  all,  he  waved  his  tomahawk  above  his  head  and  cried  : 
"  Khe-tha-a-hi  is  not  dead  !  He  lives  to  avenge  his  slain, 
though  Great  Bear  has  died  in  his  stead." 

The  lightning's  flash,  calling  forth  from  the  cloud  the 
sudden  storm  of  spring,  swells  the  rivulet  and  makes  it  a 
mighty,  resistless  torrent.  So  my  father's  brave  shout 
swept  his  remaining  warriors  into  the  sure  course  of  vic 
tory.  On  the  other  hand  the  Sioux,  disappointed  and 
amazed  that  he,  upon  whom  they  had  burst  with  so  much 
fury  and  who  had  stood  so  long  and  bravely  before  he 
fell,  was  the  noble  Great  Bear  and  not  Eagle  Wing,  could 
strike  now  but  feeble  blows,  gave  way  in  every  direction, 
and  at  last  fled  on  their  fleet  ponies  away. 

When  they  had  gone,  we  who  had  been  so  secure  while 
others  suffered  for  us  came  out  of  our  retreat,  anxious  to 
do  what  we  might  to  stay  their  loss  of  blood.  Oh  then 
there  were  sad  scenes !  Would  the  white  man  call  us 
savages  if  he  could  see  this  mother  holding  upon  her  lap 
the  head  of  her  dying  son,  who  poured  his  blood  forth 
freely  that  her  gray  hairs  might  be  undefiled  ?  Would  he 
call  this  wife  a  savage  who,  with  her  crowing  babe  cling 
ing  to  her  breast,  kneels  here  beside  the  body  of  her 
young  husband  and  whispers  tender  words  in  his  dull  ear? 
That  love  shines  not  in  satins,  is  it  love  the  less  ?  Or  is  this 
a  savage  scene — this  sister  clasping  her  brother,  safe  and 


AN  INDIAN  BA  TTLE  3  I 

well,  in  her  arms ;  this  little  family  clustered  together  in  a 
quiet  spot,  thanking  \Vakanda,  with  a  mingling  of  aged  and 
infant  voices,  that  He  had  saved  the  loved  father  from 
death  ?  Over  the  fallen  Great  Bear  was  bending  the  gray 
head  of  the  wise  Standing  Elk.  Prairie  Flower  and  I, 
hearing  his  mourning,  had  hastened  to  his  side,  and  while 
she  fondled  one  of  his  hands  I  reverently  held  the  other. 
She  wept  to  see  her  father  thus  distressed  ;  I  wept  because 
the  Great  Bear  had  died  to  leave  me  mine.  When  we 
had  sat  thus  a  moment,  Standing  Elk  began  the  touching 
Dta-ivd-e,  or  lament  for  the  dead,  which  springs  naturally 
from  the  heart  of  the  red  man  as  the  alkali  waters  bubble 
from  the  swamp-spring. 

"Alas!  my  noble  brother!"  he  cried.  "Thou  wert 
swifter  than  the  antelope,  and  as  tender  in  thy  love.  Thou 
wert  wiser  than  the  wild-bee !  Thy  sight  was  sharper 
than  the  king-fisher's,  and  thy  strength  as  lasting  as  the 
hart's.  From  the  day  on  which  thou  didst  meet  the 
mighty  bear  on  the  foot,-hills  of  the  west  and  kill  him 
alone,  and  take  his  great  name,  where  has  been  the  glar 
ing  eye  of  animal  or  man  that  thou  daredst  not  face  ? 
And  when  until  now  wast  thou  ever  overcome?  But,  my 
brother,  these  crossed  heaps  of  Sioux  around  thee  show 
thou  didst  not  die  the  badger's  death.  Who  now  shall 
find  for  us  the  light  footprint  of  the  deer,  who  shall  lead 
us  on  the  covered  track  of  the  spoiler  ?  \Vhose  voice  but 
thine  can  bring  one  small  pulse  of  joy  to  hearts  left  sad  by 
thy  untimely  death  ?  And  yet  thou  couldst  have  had  no 
nobler  death — to  die  to  save  thy  chief  were  worthy  of 
Great  Bear!  Alas!  my  noble  brother!  Alas!  Ma-chu- 
ta-ga !  Ma-chu-ta-ga !  thou  hast  fallen  ! " 

When  he  had  finished  his  lament,  he  sat  silent  for  a  few 
moments  and  then  rose,  wrapped  his  blanket  about  him 
and  walked  away.  I  lifted  my  eyes  to  follow  him,  and 


32  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

they  encountered  the  tall  form  of  my  father  standing 
with  folded  arms  and  gazing  tenderly  upon  the  prostrate 
body  of  him  who  had  died  in  his  stead. 

"  Tis  a  noble  thing,  my  son,"  he  said  to  me,  "  to  die  for 
thy  people's  sake  and  for  the  life  of  thy  chief.  Thou  wilt 
be  chief  one  day,  and  then  thou  wilt  know  how  sad  it  is  to 
see  thy  children  fall.  My  heart  weeps  for  Ma-chu-ta-ga 
to-day.  But  get  thee  to  thy  mother.  They  come  who 
will  prepare  the  brave  warrior  for  his  long  sleep." 

The  twilight  had  now  come  down.  Over  the  spot  of 
prairie  where  lately  such  fury  and  hatred  burned  a 
strange  silence  rested.  The  whispering  of  the  wind 
through  the  long  prairie  grass,  the  moaning  of  some 
heart-broken  one  by  the  side  of  a  body,  the  barking  of  the 
wolves  who  from  afar  had  smelt  the  flowing  blood,  and 
the  distant  falling  of  worn-away  banks  into  the  eddying 
river,  were  all  the  sounds  we  heard.  I  held  sweet  Prairie 
Flower's  hand  tightly  as  we  walked  away,  fearing  that 
some  stray  Sioux-shaft  might  still  come  to  strike  her 
from  my  side. 

Around  the  camp-fires  that  night  there  were  many 
breaking  hearts.  Only  the  young  and  innocent  could 
sleep.  Upon  a  little  hillock  near  by  those  who  had  been- 
killed  were  laid,  and  at  their  heads  a  row  of  pine  torches 
burned.  Watches  were  stationed  to  do  them  every  possible 
honor,  and  at  stated  intervals  to  chant  the  Dta-wa-e — the 
death-song  of  my  people.  Upon  the  highest  point  that 
had  been  covered  by  the  battle  shadowy  forms  were  seen 
at  work  during  the  long  hours,  and  the  dull  thud  of  their 
implements  striking  against  the  earth  told  the  sad  story 
of  the  digging  of  graves.  Oh  how  many  silent  and  lovely 
spots  have  heard  that  weird  and  dreadful  sound  ! 

With  the  first  streaks  of  light  on  the  following  morning 
the  camp  was  astir.  A  mournful  procession  was  formed 


AN  INDIAN  BATTLE.  33 

out  of  every  member  of  our  little  party  to  convey  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  warriors  to  their  last  resting-place. 
On  wicker-work  of  wild  aspens,  covered  with  soft  furs  and 
bright  blankets,  they  were  placed.  These  were  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  bravest  warriors,  my  father  still  in 
his  war-dress,  and  Standing  Elk,  with  his  blanket  folded 
tightly  round  him,  taking  the  lead.  After  the  bodies 
came  the  warriors  who  were  able  to  walk ;  after  these  the 
women,  many  of  whom  wrung  their  hands  in  deep  despair; 
and  after  these  the  children,  who  little  knew  the  dread 
solemnity  of  the  spectacle  of  which  they  formed  a  part. 
Upon  this  sad  march  the  most  perfect  silence  was  de 
manded.  When  we  reached  the  graves  and  had  ranged 
ourselves  around  them,  the  wise  man,  Standing  Elk, 
turned  to  us  and  said  : 

"  Let  us  call  to  mind  the  words  spoken  to  us  by  the 
good  Wa-ga-za*  of  the  great  love  of  Wakanda  and  the 
great  Love-Gift.  I  see  -before  me  my  brother  and  my 
friend.  You  see  your  husband  and  your  son.  We  lay 
them  where  the  wild  winds  shall  sweep  and  the  dande 
lions  blossom.  Here  the  storm  shall  burst,  but  they  shall 
not  fear  it.  Here  the  soft  snows  shall  rest,  but  they  shall 
not  feel  them  cold.  But  shall  nothing  else  be  here?  Yes, 
here  shall  be  Wakanda's  smile,  and  this  they  shall  feel !" 

As  he  spoke  these  words  the  bright  sun  rose  above 
the  horizon,  and  while  its  rays  touched  hill  and  tree 
with  a  gold  richer  than  that  the  white  man  seeks, 
pur  warriors  were  laid  to  their  rest.  Their  ponies,  fallen 
in  the  fight,  were  buried  beside  them,  and  over  all  was 
built  a  framework  of  poplar  boughs.  Oh,  if  you  pass  that 
way,  drop  a  tear  for  Great  Bear's  sake,  who  followed  the 
full  extent  of  duty  as  he  knew  it,  though  it  demanded  his 

*  Missionary. 


34  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

life — as  dear  to  him  as  yours  to  you ;  and  as  you  stand 
upon  that  lovely,  lonely  spot,  think  of  my  people  as — 
ignorant,  if  you  please,  but — possessed  of  a  love  and  sym 
pathy  which  in  any  condition  avail  to  make  life  worth  the 
living ;  think  of  us  with  pity,  not  with  scorn,  because  our 
usages  seem  strange  to  you.  We  were  made  by  the  same 
Wakanda  who  fashioned  you,  and  whom  in  our  simple 
way  we  love.  Possibly  we  are  peculiarly  his  own  because 
we  are  weak  and  ignorant. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   BUFFALO-HUNT. 

THE  weeping  of  the  night-dew  is  soon  dried  from  the 
short  grass,  and  abides  not  many  hours  upon  the  long, 
save  where  the  shade  of  shrub  or  willow  wards  off  the 
sun-rays.  So  the  tears  of  sadness  remained  but  for  a  short 
space  upon  the  eyelashes  of  those  of  us  who  were  young, 
and  even  the  older  members  of  the  tribe  were  soon  so 
interested  in  the  progress  of  our  hunt  that  their  hearts 
had  no  room  for  bitter  thoughts.  Only  those  who  had 
peculiar  reason  for  sorrow,  in  the  loss  of  near  relatives, 
continued  long  to  mourn.  It  may  be  that  this  shortness 
of  grief  is  the  foundation  of  the  charge  that  we  are 
savages.  One  mark  of  the  civilization  we  lack  may  be  the 
lasting  love  that  friend  has  for  friend,  and  husband  for 
wife — a  love  like  that  of  bald  eagles  once  mated  in  youth, 
which  never  cease  to  mourn  when  the  object  of  it  is  dead, 
and  never  seeks  to  supply  the  vacant  place.  I  know  not 
how  this  is. 

There  was  one  circumstance  connected  with  our  con 
flict  with  the  Sioux  which  struck  even  my  childish  fancy 
as  peculiarly  important.  When  we  came  to  gather  up 
the  blankets  with  which  they  had  hoped  to  gain  an 
easy  victory,  and  which  had  been  left  where  they  had 
fallen,  we  found  them  in  every  respect  superior  to  any  we 
had  before  seen.  They  were  thick  and  warm  and  durable. 
The  wise  Standing  Elk  showed  one  of  these  blankets  to 
me,  and,  child  as  I  was,  impressed  me  deeply  as  he  said  : 

"In  these  blankets  there  is  a  bitter  story  folded.  You 
must  know,  my  son,  that  they  were  given  to  the  Sioux  by 


36  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

the  Great  Father  who  rules  the  whole  land  in  which  we 
dwell.  To  him  we  also  owe  the  blankets  which  keep  us 
warm  and  the  implements  with  which  we  cultivate  the 
soil.  But  you  have  already  noticed  that  the  Sioux's 
blankets  are  much  better  than  any  we  have  ever  received, 
although  we  have  always  been  faithful  to  the  whites, 
while  the  Sioux  have  been  their  bitterest  enemies." 

"  Do  the  white  men  treat  their  enemies  better  than 
their  friends?"  I  asked  in  astonishment. 

"They  do.  And  so  they  encourage  the  red  men  to 
slaughter  and  revenge.  Frequently  in  our  councils  it  has 
taken  all  my  eloquence  and  all  thy  father's  authority  to 
prevent  the  young  men  going  to  war,  because,  as  they 
truly  said,  the  red  man  can  get  his  right  only  by  making 
himself  feared.  If  we  were  bad  Indians  as  the  Sioux 
are,  we  would  have  as  beautiful  blankets  as  they.  It 
seems  an  unmerciful  and  unthinking  policy  adopted  by 
the  whites  to  treat  the  red  men  who  have  fought  and 
suffered  for  them  with  indignities  and  cruelty,  while  those 
who  threaten  them  with  murder  and  robbery  are  con 
ciliated  with  the  brightest  presents  and  the  greatest 
favors." 

Oh  how  often  in  after-years  did  I  think  of  these  weighty 
words  !  On  how  many  cruel  occasions,  and  in  how  many 
bloody  scenes,  did  I  learn  that  they  were  true ! 

When  the  wounded  among  our  warriors  were  able  to 
mount  their  ponies  again,  we  pursued  our  journey  toward 
the  great  north-west.  Our  way  now  led  us  over  wide 
stretches  of  untrodden  prairie,  crossing  here  and  there  a 
little  stream  with  wood-dotted  banks.  Oh  how  free  we 
felt — able  to  hold  our  path  against  all  disputers  ;  depen 
dent  on  the  skill  of  our  hunters  alo'ne  ;  careful  simply 
that  no  sunrise  or  sunset  pass  without  receiving  due 
admiration,  and  obliged  only  to  Wakanda  who  kept  us 


THE  BUFFALO-HUNT  37 

securely  and  well.  At  last  we  reached  a  lovely  camping- 
spot  in  a  grove  of  great  trees  which,  because  they  stood 
in  a  defile  of  the  prairie,  had  been  spared  for  many  years 
by  the  fires.  Here  never-failing  springs  burst  forth, 
offering  their  cool  and  healthful  refreshment.  Is  it  one 
mark  of  the  "  savage"  to  love  these  quiet  retreats  better 
than  the  noise  and  anxiety  of  a  great  city  ;  and  are  we  to 
be  spit  upon  and  shot  at  sight  because  Wakanda  has 
made  us  with  these  simple  tastes?  Is  it  because  liberty 
is  more  to  us  than  life  that  the  white  men  say  sneeringly 
of  all  red  men,  whether  good  or  bad,  "The  only  good 
Indian  is  the  dead  Indian'  ?  We  love  liberty  because  the 
world  is  full  of  it,  and  we  are  a  part  of  Wakanda's  world. 
From  the  moment  of  our  birth,  nature  around  us  has 
rippled  with  freedom  in  every  rill,  and  bubbled  with  it  in 
every  spring,  and  shone  with  it  in  every  glistening  sand- 
grain,  and  waved  with  it  in  every  grass-spear  and  nodding 
dandelion.  Why,  then,  should  we  be  called  "savages" 
because  of  all  races  we  love  the  rills  and  springs  and  grass 
the  most,  and  are  most  akin  to  their  nature? 

In  this  free  and  beautiful  spot  we  pitched  our  perma 
nent  camp.  Here  we  were  to  remain  until  our  hunters 
had  secured  all  the  game  we  desired  and  the  buffalo- 
meat  was  sufficiently  dried  to  be  taken  home  for  winter 
use.  Every  morning  our  scouts  went  out  in  every  direc 
tion  to  watch  for  the  coming  of  a  buffalo-herd,  when  they 
were  to  report  to  us  at  camp  and  the  sport  was  to  begin. 
And  we  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  second  morning  after 
our  reaching  this  camping-spot,  our  scouts  came  in,  wild 
with  excitement  and  shouting,  "  Dta  !  dta  !"*  They  an 
nounced  that  an  immense  herd  of  the  noble  game  we 
sought  blackened  the  whole  horizon  to  the  northward. 

*  "  Buffalo  !  buffalo  I" 


38  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

Instantly  there  was  the  greatest  confusion.  The  warriors, 
who  had  been  sleeping  in  the  shade,  or  mending  their 
bow-strings,  or  fashioning  new  arrows,  sprang  up  and 
began  to  prepare  for  the  hunt.  The  ponies  were  hastily 
loosed  from  their  tethers,  the  long  hunting-knives  were 
thrust  into  the  hunters'  belts,  outer  garments  were  thrown 
away,  and  in  a  time  so  short  that  you  would  scarce 
believe  it  could  be  done  the  whole  company  was  ready 
for  the  start.  The  ponies  seemed  to  share  in  the  common 
excitement,  for  they  pawed  the  ground  and  whinnied 
ceaselessly,  wild  to  be  away.  When  all  was  ready  my  father 
gave  the  word,  and  the  whole  hunting-party,  dividing  into 
three  bands  so  as  to  encompass  the  herd,  rode  gayly 
forth.  Those  of  us  who  were  not  permitted  to  enter 
actively  upon  the  sport  took  a  station  upon  a  high  spot 
of  ground  near  by,  where  we  could  share  in  the  general 
excitement  and  watch  the  entire  proceedings  of  the  day. 
The  very  children  danced  about  in  uncontrollable'delight, 
shouting,  "  Dta  !  dta  !" 

When  the  hunters  gained  the  open  prairie  the  bands 
separated,  one  going  eastward,  another  in  the  opposite 
direction,  while  the  central  band  continued  to  advance 
directly  upon  the  game.  We  could  see  the  flanking 
parties  galloping  away,  taking  advantage  of  every  little 
hillock,  riding  along  dry  creek-beds,  or  pursuing  lines  of 
long  prairie-grass,  so  as  to  come  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
grazing  buffaloes  without  alarming  them.  At  last  we  saw 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  herd  lift  his  head  and  gaze 
steadily  toward  the  right  flanking  party.  This  the 
hunters  knew  would  be  instantly  followed  by  the  stam 
pede  of  the  whole  herd ;  and  therefore,  with  wild  and 
joyous  cries,  the  three  bands  dashed  in  full  speed  upon 
the  noble  game.  For  a  few  moments  the  buffaloes,  con 
fused  by  the  loud  and  opposite  shouts,  stood  irresolute, 


THE   BUFFALO-HUNT.  39 

and  then,  forming  a  column  of  shaggy  might  that  shook 
the  very  earth,  they  galloped  away.  The  delay,  however, 
was  sufficient  to  allow  our  hunters  to  get  within  gun- 
range  and  even  arrow-shot  of  the  stragglers,  and  in  the 
dust  which  instantly  arose,  a  great  cloud,  to  heaven,  we 
could  see  the  blaze  of  the  rifle  and  the  stumbling  fall  of 
the  victims.  The  custom  was  to  ride  up  beside  the 
buffaloes  and  shoot  them  in  the  back,  and  one  arrow  or 
ball  was  generally  sufficient  to  stretch  them  upon  the 
earth,  where  they  could  afterwards  be  dispatched  with  the 
long  knives.  For  many  hours  that  day  the  dust  con 
tinued,  rolling  away  toward  the  north  ;  and  though  the 
shouts  and  reports  grew  gradually  less  and  less  distinct, 
and  finally  ceased  entirely,  we  knew  the  sport  continued 
still. 

It  was  late  at  night  when  the  hunters  returned  to 
camp,  bringing  such  tender  and  savory  parts  of  buffalo- 
meat  as  were  designed  for  the  evening  meal,  but  leaving 
until  the  next  day  the  great  work  of  carrying  in  the  hides 
and  joints  for  drying.  We  had  bright  fires  blazing  for 
them  when  they  came,  and  every  preparation,  except  the 
roasting  of  the  meat  they  were  to  bring,  made  for  their 
evening  meal.  The  hunters  threw  themselves  down 
before  the  fires,  and  after  their  more  pressing  hunger  was 
satisfied,  each  took  a  buffalo-rib  and  held  it  in  the  coals, 
watching  it  as  it  roasted  brown  and  savory.  Then  began 
the  recalling  of  the  day's  adventures  and  incidents.  What 
ringing  laughter  was  heard  as  some  amusing  exploit  was 
related,  and  how  they  gloried  in  the  swiftness  of  their 
ponies  and  the  strength  of  their  own  right  arms  !  Little 
Prairie  Flower  and  I  loved  to  sit  beside  our  fathers  and 
hear  these  thrilling  stories.  The  fire's  glare  lit  up  the 
little  hillsides  around  us,  and  peopled  the  pine-tops  with 
angels  of  light  who  evermore  whispered  joy  and  love  to 


40  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

our  hearts.  As  I  look  back  upon  that  happy,  cheerful 
evening,  it  seems  very  strange  that  men  like  those,  who 
dwell  together  without  jealousy  and  without  cheating, 
with  no  hard  words  and  no  cruel  exactions,  with  none  of 
the  niggardliness  of  riches  or  the  grumbling  of  poverty, 
should  be  hated  of  the  white  men  and  beloved  of  Wa- 
kanda:  for  the  self-same  reason  that  they  fulfill  their 
simple  natures  as  Wakanda  has  taught  them,  and  wish 
only  to  be  left  alone  in  bounding,  joyous  liberty  ! 

That  day  was  the  type  of  many  others  as  our  hunt  went 
gayly  on.  There  occurred,  however,  an  incident  which 
more  nearly  concerns  my  story,  and  I  must  tell  you  of  it. 
As  the  twilight  came  down  upon  us  one  evening,  the 
warriors  had  not  returned  from  the  day's  expedition,  and 
the  women  were  preparing  their  supper  around  the  camp- 
fires.  Suddenly  from  a  thicket  near  by  a  dozen  Sioux 
sprang  upon  us,  screaming  their  terrible  war-cry,  and 
began  to  strike  the  defenseless  women  and  children  to  the 
earth.  I  clasped  little  Prairie  Flower  in  my  arms,  expect 
ing  that  our  turn  to  die  would  soon  come,  and  wishing 
only  that  I  might  hold  her  thus  when  the  blow  came. 
Oh,  how  often  in  the  weary  and  sad  years  that  have  since 
passed  have  I  wished  that  we  had  then  and  thus  died ! 
As  we  were  thus  crouching  on  the  grass,  clasped  in  each 
other's  arms,  my  mother  rushed  to  us,  her  frightened  face 
streaming  with  tears,  caught  us  by  the  arms  and  thrust  us 
into  a  little  pit  which  we,  in  our  play,  had  dug  in  the 
earth.  She  then  threw  herself  over  us,  with  her  face 
downward,  and  in  this  manner  completely  hid  us  from 
sight.  "The  next  moment  one  of  the  lynx-hearted  mur 
derers  came  by,  and  supposing  her  to  be  dead,  as  she 
feigned  to  be,  gave  her  a  cruel  kick  in  the  side  and  passed 
along.  She  uttered  no  groan,  but  whispered  to  us  to 
remain  perfectly  still,  and  by  the  blessing  of  Wakanda 


THE  BUFFALO-HUNT.  41 

she  would  save  our  lives,  though  it  took  her  own. 
Another  of  the  Sioux,  discovering  her,  came  and  with 
horrid  oaths  thrust  his  arrow  again  and  again  into  her 
quivering  back  and  sides.  Still  she  did  not  move  a 
muscle  or  moan  in  the  slightest,  though  I  could  feel  the 
hot  tears  falling  upon  my  cheek.  Just  as  he  had  started 
away,  satisfied  that  my  mother  was  dead,  we  heard  the 
shouts  of  a  party  of  our  warriors  returning  from  the  hunt. 
They  soon  understood  the  cause  of  the  screams  and  com 
motion  in  our  camp,  and,  with  cries  of  hate  and  rage, 
dashed  upon  the  Sioux  so  fiercely  and  swiftly  that  only 
two  or  three  escaped.  When  the  mother-partridge  sees 
the  shadow  of  the  hawk,  she  utters  her  chirp  of  warning, 
and  instantly  the  little  brood  scatters  into  the  grass,  hid 
ing  behind  shrubs  and  crouching  under  leaves  ;  but  when 
danger  is  over  the  little  chicks  come  forth  again.  So 
when  the  Sioux  had  gone  as  many  of  the  women  and 
children  of  our  party  as  had  been  saved  made  a  sudden 
appearance  from  little  clumps  of  bushes  and  other  retreats 
whither  they  had  fled  at  the  first  notice  of  danger.  With 
scarce  a  moment's  delay  of  weeping,  they  began  the  sad 
task  of  arranging  the  remains  of  those  who  had  been 
killed.  The  cruel  wounds  my  mother  had  received  bled 
freely  and  became  very  painful,  but  she  clasped  little 
Prairie  Flower  and  me  to  her  breast  and  said  cheerfully: 

"  My  dear  children !  I  would  die  a  thousand  times  for 
your  sakes !" 

Oh  !  was  I  not  right  when  I  thought,  as  I  have  thought 
many  times  since,  that  civilization  can  claim  absolute 
superiority  to  our  simple  ways  .only  when  it  presents  the 
spectacle  of  holier  love  than  this,  and  inculcates  prin 
ciples  of  a  nobler  self-sacrifice  ? 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ARRIVAL  OF  GRAY  COAT. 

FOR  about  two  years  after  our  return  from  this  hunt, 
nothing  took  place  in  our  little  village  of  sufficient  impor 
tance  to  be  mentioned  here.  At  the  end  of  something 
like  that  period,  however,  an  event  occurred  which  changed 
the  whole  future  history  of  our  tribe,  and  brought  us,  ulti 
mately,  from  the  high  hills  of  hope  and  liberty  to  the 
dark  caves  of  slavery  and  despair. 

One  day  a  troop  of  us,  boys  and  girls  together,  were 
chasing  yellow-winged  butterflies  upon  the  prairie  a  mile 
or  more  from  our  homes.  The  rich  green  grass  of  spring 
had  just  burst  up  from  the  sod,  and  while  our  fathers  and 
older  brothers  were  preparing  the  soil  in  our  fields  for  the 
year's  crop,  we  who  were  happily  released  from  such  slav 
ish  work  allowed  our  energies  to  escape  in  noisy  romp 
and  wild  chase.  While  thus  engaged,  we  saw  four  horse 
men  riding  over  the  prairie  toward  us,  and  instantly  our 
sport  was  stopped,  and  we  gathered  into  a  bunch,  to  specu 
late  as  to  who  the  visitors  might  be.  They  rode  horses 
much  larger  than  any  we  had  ever  seen  before,  and  their 
faces  and  garments  and  manner  pointed  them  out  as 
belonging  to  some  race  with  which  we  children  had  never 
come  in  contact.  We  watched  them  closely  until  they  had 
come  within  twenty  lariats'  length  of  us,  and  then  one  of 
our  number  shouted : 

"  Run  !  run  !  Wa-gha !  wa-gha*  !  The  white  men  !  The 
white  men !"  and  we  scampered  back  to  our  village  wild 

*  "  White  man!  white  man!" 


THE  ARRIVAL   OF  GRAY  COAT.  43 

with  affright,  and  yet  bursting  ever  and  anon  into  peals  of 
venturesome  laughter.  Oh !  would  that  we  had  run  so 
fast  and  so  far  that  we  had  never  seen  their  faces  again ! 

They  proved  indeed  to  be  white  men,  and  as  they  rode 
proudly  into  the  little  open  space  within  our  village,  my 
father  received  them  with  the  kindness  of  a  brother.  He 
waved  his  hand  in  welcome  to  them,  and,  through  an 
interpreter  who  was  in  their  company,  invited  them  to 
dismount  and  enter  our  homes.  The  white  man  who 
seemed  of  the  most  authority  said  to  my  father: 

"  Most  noble  Eagle  Wing,  we  thank  you  for  your  gener 
ous  welcome.  But  we  come  from  the  Great  Father  on 
business  of  the  greatest  importance  to  you  and  your  tribe, 
and  therefore  we  desire  a  council  with  you  and  your  head 
men  as  soon  as  you  may  be  willing  to  grant  it." 

The  speaker  was  a  fat  man  of  about  fifty  years  of  age. 
He  sat  very  erect,  and  even  haughtily,  upon  his  large  bay 
horse,  from  which  high  station  his  restless  gray  eyes 
seemed  to  be  taking  in  the  several  advantages  of  our  vil 
lage.  To  my  boyish  fancy  he  appeared  to  be  sweeping, 
by  his  quick  glances,  all  our  possessions  into  his  arms  for 
his  own  use.  The  whole  expression  of  his  face  was  one 
of  cunning,  masked  under  a  pretense  of  sincerity.  His 
words  were  very  gracious,  and  apparently  so  fair  that 
many  of  our  tribe  were  completely  deceived.  He  wore  a 
great  gray  coat,  and  the  custom  of  our  people  being  to 
give  a  name  to  every  prominent  person  who  comes  among 
them,  and  to  take  that  name  from  some  striking  circum 
stance  or  object  about  him,  I  could  hear  the  members  of 
our  tribe  saying  to  each  other,  as  they  watched  him  : 

"  U-nosh-e-chu-day !  U-nosh-e-chu-day  !"  This  in  the 
white  man's  language  means  Gray  Coat !  Gray  Coat!  and 
by  this  title  he  was  ever  afterward  known  among  us. 

To  his  request  for  a  council  my  father  replied  : 


44  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  The  Indian  always  receives  the  white  man  as  a  brother 
when  he  comes  in  peace.  We  will  have  a  large  wigwam 
built  here  in  the  center  of  this  open  space,  and  in  it  our 
council  shall  be  held.  There  we  will  smoke  the  pipe  of 
peace." 

The  chief  then  gave  a  few  words  of  direction  and  com 
mand  to  his  warriors,  and  they  departed  instantly  for  a 
swamp,  which  was  at  no  great  distance  from  our  village. 
A  great  forest  of  tall,  slender  trees  grew  there,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  warriors  returned,  bearing  upon  their 
shoulders  a  number  of  poles  cut  therefrom.  The  butts  of 
these  poles  were  planted  in  the  ground  in  the  form  of  a 
circle,  and  their  tops  brought  together  and  fastened  with 
strong  thongs.  Over  this  framework  our  brightest  blank 
ets  and  richest  furs  were  flung,  and  thus  a  wigwam  was 
formed  large  enough  to  seat  thirty  persons.  A  fire  of  the 
fragrant  pine  boughs  was  built  in  the  center  of  the  wig 
wam;  the  smoke  escaped  at  the  top,  where,  wedded  to 
the  gentle  breeze,  it  curled  upward  to  the  sky.  Into  this 
wigwam  the  white  men  were  invited,  and  then  my  father, 
dressed  in  all  the  gorgeous  signs  of  his  high  chieftainship^ 
and  the  head  men  of  our  tribe,  including,  of  course,  the 
wise  Standing  Elk,  followed  them.  All  were  seated  in  a 
circle,  on  robes  spread  upon  the  ground,  and  before  any 
conversation  could  be  entered  upon  the  pipe  of  peace 
must  be  passed  from  lip  to  lip.  It  may  not  be  known  to 
some  who  read  these  simple  pages  that  our  peace-pipe  is 
a  tomahawk,  the  hollow  handle  of  which  forms  the  stem, 
and  the  round  top  above  the  blade,  the  bowl.  The  extreme 
end  of  the  handle  is  whittled  down  to  fit  the  mouth.  In 
this  pipe  we  smoke  pounded  dogwood  bark,  called  kinm- 
kinic,  mixed  with  the  very  Least  tobacco.  When  the  pipe 
is  lighted,  it  is  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  each  person 
taking  a  few  puffs,  and  always  exhaling  the  smoke 


THE  ARRIVAL  OF  GRAY  COAT.  45 

through  the  nose,  and  no  greater  insult  can  be  offered  to 
your  entertainer  than  to  refuse  to  place  the  peace-pipe  in 
your  mouth.  In  this  manner  the  pipe  was  passed  around 
the  circle  in  the  wigwam  that  day,  beginning  with  my 
father,  who  passed  it  directly  to  the  white  men,  and  end 
ing  with  the  youngest  Indian  in  the  council.  When  this 
ceremony  was  completed,  Gray  Coat  arose  and  said  : 

"  The  Great  Father  is  pleased  with  the  tribe  of  Eagle 
Wing.  He  has  sent  me  to  tell  you  this,  and  to  urge  upon 
you  to  continue  to  be  wise  and  friendly,  that  you  may  still 
enjoy  his  favor.  You  have  for  years  received  your  blank 
ets  and  farming  implements,  and,  when  in  hunger,  food  as 
well,  from  the  kind  hand  of  the  Great  Father.  But  all 
these  and  many  other  dealings  between  you  and  him  have 
been  conducted  by  persons  appointed  specially  to  bring 
each  gift;  and,  as  men  are  apt  to  be  treacherous,  and 
some  of  these  messengers  have  proven  so,  the  red  men 
have  suffered  much  from  robbery  and  deceit.  The  Great 
Father  has  now  determined  that  I  shall  remain  among 
you  as  his  agent,  to  receive  and  deliver  all  his  gifts  to  you, 
and  convey  to  him  any  suggestions  or  complaints  you 
may  have  to  make.  This  gentleman  at  my  side  has  been 
appointed  trader  with  you.  To  him  you  are  required  by 
our  law  to  sell  all  your  grain  and  furs,  and  from  him  you 
must  buy  all  your  supplies.  This  other  gentleman,  who 
with  the  interpreter  makes  up  my  party,  is  a  farmer,  sent 
to  teach  you  how  best  to  cultivate  the  soil.  We  will  live 
among  you  and  be  your  brothers,  and  all  we  ask  in  return 
is  that  you  obey  our  commands  and  grant  to  us  a  reason 
able  support  from  the  annuities  which  the  Great  Father 
will  send  you.  We  wish  you  also  to  cede  to  us  all  the 
land  that  you  now  hold,  except  a  tract  which  we  will  here 
after  specify,  sufficient  for  your  support.  This  tract  will 
be  set  apart  as  a  reservation,  upon  which  it  shall  be  my 


46  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

duty  to  defend  you,  and  from  which  you  will  not  be 
allowed  to  go  except  by  my  permission.  The  food  and 
clothing  of  all  the  members  of  the  tribe  are  to  be  placed 
under  my  control.  All  the  letters  passing  between  you 
and  the  outside  world  must  be  open  to  my  eyes.  The 
expending  of  your  annuities  shall  be  in  my  hands  entirely, 
since,  of  course,  it  would  not  do  to  regard  so  many  various 
wishes  as  the  tribe  might  express  if  a  public  consultation 
were  held.  In  short,  you  are  no  longer  to  be  neglected, 
but  will  be  taken  care  of  and  protected  by  me." 

"  In  short,"  my  father  exclaimed,  with  instant  impulse, 
"  we  are  to  be  thy  slaves  !  Go  thou  to  the  Great  Father 
and  tell  him  we  will  not  accept  his  plans.  Tell  him  we  do 
not  trust  his  words.  Why  may  not  we  live  as  we  have 
always  lived  and  as  our  fathers  have  lived  before  us? 
Must  the  nestlings  of  the  eagle  turn  into  prairie-dogs  ? 
Must  the  free-born  become  slaves  ?  Must  the  wild  colt, 
shaking  the  dews  from  his  mane  and  snorting  defiance 
at  the  elk-buck's  horns,  subject  his  flanks  tamely  to 
the  spur  ?  Go  and  tell  him  that  we  will  not  sell  our 
land  and  let  any  of  his  servants,  like  thyself,  live  upon 
the  money ;  go  and  tell  him  we  will  be  free  ! " 

"  Most  noble  Eagle  Wing,"  the  white  man  replied,  in  a 
voice  that  was  soft  and  insinuating,  "the  Great  Father 
has  already  arranged  that  I  should  stay  with  your  tribe. 
If  you  do  not  submit  quietly  to  this  regulation,  which  in 
time  you  will  discover  to  be  wise  and  fatherly,  it  will  be 
the  Great  Father's  unpleasant  duty  to  send  the  soldiers  to 
enforce  his  commands." 

"His  commands!"  my  father  said,  springing  up  and 
flinging  the  peace-pipe  away  from  him.  "  Are  we  already 
slaves  ?  When  did  we  invite  his  patronage  ?  When  did 
we  ask  thy  nation  to  be  a  father  to  us  ?  Shall  the  brown 
bear  lie  down  in  the  antelope's  simple  hiding-place,  and, 


THE   ARRIVAL   OF  GRAY  COAT.  47 

just  because  his  limbs  are  stronger,  force  the  timid  crea 
tures  to  part  with  the  larger  share  of  their  scanty  room 
and  present  their  tender  breasts  and  hams  to  his  cruel 
jaws?  The  white  man  dare  not  do  so  unjust  a  deed, 
which  in  the  end  would  make  such  savage  work  between 
his  race  and  my  own,  if  he  fear  Wakanda  !" 

"Oh!  Wakanda?"  Gray  Coat  smoothly  answered. 
"Wakanda  is  ail  well  enough  in  his  way  and  in  his  place, 
but  we  are  dealing  now  with  plain  facts.  I  am  sent  to  be 
the  Great  Father's  agent  for  this  tribe,  and  if  the  best 
and  bravest  of  all  your  warriors  should  dare  to  disobey 
my  commands,  your  Wakanda  should  not  save  him  from 
the  piercing  bayonet." 

Oh  !  to  what  quarter  of  all  this  bright  universe  above  us, 
or  of  all  this  radiant  earth  around  us,  can  the  poor  red 
men  turn  their  eyes  for  succor  and  sympathy  when  the 
power  of  Wakanda,  our  only  friend,  the  only  one  who  has 
fulfilled  his  promises  to  us  or  failed  to  enrich  himself  at 
our  expense,  is  denied  and  spit  upon  ?  Will  the  white 
man  not  grant  us  even  the  slight  hold  upon  their  mercy 
that  a  mute  and  tearful  appeal  to  the  Friend  of  all  would 
convey,  as  it  would  seem,  to  the  most  wretched  suppliant 
of  the  favor  of  the  strong?  Have  tears  lost  their  elo 
quence,  and  do  bleeding  wounds  gape  in  vain  ?  It  is  the 
simple  belief  of  my  people  that  even  the  she-wolf,  which, 
springing  suddenly  from  cover  upon  the  antelope,  stands 
with  dripping  jaws  and  fierce  eyes  over  the  fallen  victim, 
will  have  pity  and  refuse  to  slay  the  poor  creature  if  it  but 
turn  its  soft  and  pathetic  eyes  upward,  as  if  seeking  Wa- 
kanda's  face.  Will  the  white  man  show  less  mercy  than 
the  she-wolf  ? 

When  Gray  Coat  had  spoken  his  cruel  and  wicked 
words,  he  arose  haughtily,  and  with  his  three  friends  left 
the  council.  For  a  long  space  my  father  and  his  people 


48  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

sat  silent  and  despairing  around  the  ruins  of  the  council- 
fire.  At  last  the  noble  Um-pan-nez-zhe  arose  and  said  : 

"  You  have  often,  since  I  came  among  you,  taken  my 
words  as  those  of  wisdom,  my  children.  Will  you  regard 
them  now  ?  " 

"  We  will !  "  said  my  father. 

"We  will!  we  will!"  sorrowfully  answered  one  after 
another  of  the  head  men,  knowing  perfectly  what  would 
be  the  old  man's  advice. 

"My  children,"  Um-pan-nez-zhe  said, with  great  solem 
nity,  "  at  least  our  lives  are  secure.  For  the  present,  and 
as  long  as  we  quietly  obey,  they  are  secure.  And  when 
the  red  man  has  even  life  remaining,  and  while  his  wife 
and  babes  are  safe,  though  he  has  been  stripped  of  every 
other  comfort,  he  has  all — nay  !  far  more  than  all — he  can 
expect  from  the  stronger  race.  Still,  if  we  send  to  the 
Great  Father  a  petition,  signed  by  all  the  head  men  of 
our  tribe,  he  may  regard  our  wishes  and  suffer  us  to  be 
free." 

This  last  hint,  being  the  only  hope  that  could  be 
offered,  was  eagerly  accepted  by  all,  and  a  messenger  was 
dispatched  to  the  white  men,  begging  them  to  return  and 
hold  another  conference. 

Gray  Coat  and  his  companions  soon  made  their  appear 
ance,  wearing  upon  their  faces  the  injured  look  of  those 
who  have  for  a  long  time  borne  patiently  with  the  whims 
and  fancies  of  a  childish  people. 

"  Are  you  willing  now  to  talk  words  of  wisdom  ?  "  Gray 
Coat  asked,  with  as  much  severity  as  his  soft  voice  could 
assume,  and  also  with  a  trace  of  triumph  in  its  tone. 

All  the  warriors  turned  their  eyes  to  Um-pan-nez-zhe  as 
having  proposed  the  petition,  and  as  therefore  being  the 
proper  person  to  explain  and  favor  it.  But  the  wise  man 
had  still  another  plan  in  his  mind,  and  so  when  my  father 


THE   ARRIVAL    OF  GRAY  COAT.  49 

waved  his  hand  to  him  to  speak,  he  arose,  with  a  dignity 
which  I  saw  really  affected  the  white  men,  and  said  : 

"Is  it  our  land  that  the  Great  Father  desires?  Has 
he  not  enough  for  his  people  in  all  the  great  prairies  that 
sweep  so  grandly  between  the  watering  rivers  ?  If  so,  let 
him  send  a  few  of  his  families  to  us  and  we  will  give 
them  land.  And  if  he  desires  all  our  land,  but  will  still 
grant  us  life  and  liberty,  we  will  move  on  toward  the  setting 
sun,  the  course  our  fathers  all  have  taken,  and  there  we 
will  live  and  be  out  of  the  white  man's  way." 

"  Nay!  my  noble  old  man,"  Gray  Coat  replied,  "  I  have 
come  for  the  very  purpose  of  defending  you  from  the 
powerful  tribes  of  Sioux  who  roam  upon  the  prairies  to 
the  west." 

"  Is  there  such  strength  in  thine  arm,  then  ?  "  the  wise 
man  replied  sneeringly.  "  Surely  I  did  not  think  it. 
And  besides,  for  many  generations  we  have  been  fully 
able  to  defend  ourselves  against  the  Sioux,  and  if  this  be 
the  object  of  thy  journey  to  us,  we  thank  thee  for  thy 
kindness  but  we  decline  thine  aid." 

Stung  by  these  words,  Gray  Coat  angrily  exclaimed  : 

"  Cease  such  foolish  talking  !  The  Great  Father  com 
mands  you  to  remain  where  you  now  are,  and  to  obey  my 
directions." 

"  But  if  we  should  send  a  petition  to  him,  stating  that 
we  prefer  to  remain  as  we  have  been  and  that  we  love  not 
even  our  beautiful  homes  so  much  as  we  do  liberty,  would 
he  not  respect  our  wishes  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly ! "  was  the  reply  of  the  white  man, 
whose  expression  of  face  instantly  changed  from  anger  to 
quiet  triumph.  "And  as  I  anticipated  that  you  would 
desire  to  make  such  a  petition,  I  have  ordered  my  secre 
tary,  the  interpreter,  to  bring  writing  materials  to  take 
your  words  down." 


5°  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

When  Gray  Coat  had  thus  spoken  he  held  a  short  con 
ference  with  the  interpreter.  A  look  of  understanding 
between  them  and  a  smile  of  cunning  and  triumph  played 
for  a  moment  upon  the  faces  of  all  the  white  men.  Ah  ! 
it  was  only  after  many  years  of  bitter  suffering  and  cruel 
robbery  that  I  learned  what  that  look  and  smile  por 
tended  to  the  unhappy  Indian  race !  The  paper  which 
was  on  that  day  prepared  opened  the  way  for  one  of  the 
most  unjust  of  all  the  dealings  that  even  the  white  man 
has  had  with  us,  and  is  the  cause  and  groundwork  of  the 
sorrowful  story  that  I  have  to  tell ;  a  story  sad  because 
of  the  pathetic  tears  we  were  made  to  shed,  and  sweet 
because  of  the  graces  which,  by  our  suffering  itself,  were 
nourished  and  developed  in  certain  hearts  very  dear  to 
me. 

When  Standing  Elk  had  heard  the  words  of  the  white 
man  he  took  his  seat,  as  it  was  our  custom  to  delegate 
the  task  of  dictating  treaties  or  petitions  to  the  chief.  My 
father,  therefore,  arose  when  the  secretary  was  ready  to 
take  down  his  words,  gathered  his  robes  of  command 
about  him,  and  spoke  the  earnest  wishes  of  our  hearts.  It 
was  a  grand  picture.  My  father  was  so  tall  that  he  stood 
very  near  the  center  of  the  council-wigwam,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  lift  himself  erect,  and  even  then  the  eagle- 
plumes  upon  his  head  touched  the  robes  that  were  flung 
upon  the  roof.  He  made  many  gestures  of  majesty  and 
grace ;  and  to  the  dignity  of  the  orator  added  the  earn 
estness  of  one  who  is  conscious  of  pleading  the  most 
sacred  rights  of  the  humble  against  the  cruelty  of  the 
strong.  His  words  were  as  follows  : 

"  Most  noble  Great  Father  !  was  it  by  your  command 
that  Gray  Coat  came  to  deprive  us  of  our  liberty,  and  did 
you  tell  him  to  threaten  us  with  death  if  we  did  not  sub 
mit  to  his  authority?  What  crime  have  we  committed 


THE   ARRIVAL    OF  GRAY   COAT.  51 

that  we  may  not  be  free?  When  have  we  failed  to  stand 
between  the  white  settlers  and  the  Sioux,  and  when  have 
we  hesitated  to  die  that  those  who  have  taken  refuge  in 
our  wigwams  might  live  ?  Does  it  not  seem  that  we  who 
have  always  been  the  white  man's  friends  ought  surely  to 
enjoy  our  little  possessions  in  security  and  peace  ?  Our 
hearts  are  heavy  and  our  eyes  are  dull  with  weeping. 
Our  wives  and  children  will  moan  and  cry,  '  Ma-shan ! 
Ma-shan ! ;  *  through  all  the  night  if  we  may  not  live  in 
liberty.  For  what  is  home  if  we  be  not  free  ?  If  the 
Great  Father  wants  our  land  we  will  move  away,  following 
the  sun,  which  smiles  with  constant  brightness  upon  us. 
The  red  man  loves  liberty.  Will  the  Great  Father  grant 
it  to  him  ?" 

These  words  were  taken  down,  as  we  supposed,  by  the 
interpreter,  and  under  them  my  father  and  all  the  head 
men  present  made  their  marks.  There  was  a  peculiar 
blotch  upon  the  paper  near  where  my  father  placed  his 
cross,  and  this  being  fixed  in  my  memory,  I  was  able  to 
recognize  the  petition  when  for  a  very  cruel  purpose  it 
was  presented  to  us  many  years  thereafter. 

"  It  will  be  some  time,"  Gray  Coat  said,  "  before  the 
Great  Father  will  reply  to  these  words.  Meanwhile  it  is 
my  duty  to  assume  authority  over  you.  I  shall  take  up 
my  residence  in  the  little  grove  which  crowns  the  hill  to 
the  east  of  us,  and  let  no  one  of  your  tribe  without  my 
permission  leave  the  reservation,  as  we  shall  now  call  the 
part  of  your  land  which  I  shall  hereafter  mark  out." 

Thus  the  "  Indian  Agent"  came  among  us,  and  thus  our 
slavery  began.  The  results  of  his  presence  were  not 
appreciated  by  me  at  that  time ;  indeed  it  was  some  years 
before  the  very  wisest  of  all  our  people  knew  what  power 

»"Horae!  home!" 


52  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

for  oppression  and  cruelty  he  had  in  his  hands.  There 
were  even  some  in  our  tribe  who  regarded  his  coming  as 
a  favorable  sign  to  us,  since,  as  they  argued,  we  thus  had 
a  representative  of  the  Great  Father  at  our  very  door, 
and  could  present  our  grievances  to  him  in  person.  More 
over,  they  said,  we  can  learn  from  him  many  wise  ways 
and  judicious  customs,  so  that  our  lives  will  be  happier 
and  our  children  better  educated.  And  it  is  only  just  to 
say  that  they  were  right  in  this  last  particular.  The  agent 
did  indeed  establish  a  school  in  which  more  than  one 
hundred  of  our  young  people  learned  to  read  and  speak 
the  English  language.  To  him  I  owe  the  power,  which  I 
now  so  poorly  use,  of  writing  my  simple  history,  with  the 
hope  of  securing  sympathy  and  justice  for  my  unhappy 
people. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  began  to  discover  how  real 
and  absolute  was  the  power  Gray  Coat  exerted  over  us. 
In  a  thousand  ways  he  made  us  feel  our  subjection.  The 
faces  of  my  people  gradually  assumed  more  and  more  of 
a  despairing  look,  until  it  seemed  to  me  that  one  who  had 
visited  us  when  I  was  a  child  would  scarce  recognize  us  as 
the  same  race  had  he  come  again  when  I  had  become  a 
youth. 

I  must  anticipate  my  story  a  little  while  I  tell  you  of  the 
singular  and  original  manner  in  which  Gray  Coat  secured, 
without  expense  to  himself,  a  large  and  comfortable  home 
among  the  trees  of  which  he  spoke  at  the  council. 

When  our  first  annuities,  amounting  to  about  six  thou 
sand  dollars,  were  sent  to  our  agent,  he  prepared  to  ex 
pend  them  without  consulting  our  wishes  in  the  slightest. 
He  ordered  a  large  number  of  our  young  men  to  leave 
their  field-work,  take  their  teams,  and  haul  an  immense 
number  of  bricks  from  a  distant  station  on  the  white 
man's  railroad.  Workmen  were  also  brought  over,  who 


THE  ARRIVAL    OF  GRAY  COAT.  53 

began  to  build  the  walls  of  a  large  structure,  many  of  the 
Indians  being  required  to  assist  on  the  more  simple  and 
burdensome  parts  of  the  work.  We  wondered  much  v/hat 
the  building  could  be  designed  for;  but  as  the  walls  rose 
higher  and  higher  in  such  disproportionate  grandeur  to 
the  simple  homes  in  which  we  dwelt,  the  wiser  among  us 
began  to  suspect  that  it  was  to  be  the  agent's  dwelling- 
place.  The  weeds  were  growing  rank  between  our  rows 
of  corn,  and  we  were  stared  in  the  face  by  cruel  hunger, 
which  too  really  beset  us  in  the  following  winter,  but  Gray 
Coat  cared  not.  After  many  months  of  hard  work  the 
building  was  completed,  and  then  the  agent  said  to  us  : 

li  I  have  spent  your  six  thousand  dollars  in  this  edifice, 
which  I  design  for  a  hospital  for  the  tribe.  If  any  one 
among  you  should  be  sick,  he  will  be  cared  for  here.  See 
how  kind  and  thoughtful  I  have  been  of  the  interests  of 
those  under  my  charge.  Do  you  not  repent  that  you  ever 
refused  for  a  moment  to  regard  my  authority  ?" 

But  our  chief  answered  him  : 

"  We  do  not  wish  to  be  treated  in  a  hospital.  We  have 
our  homes,  in  which  our  wives  and  daughters  may  nurse 
us  when  we  are  sick.  You  have  deceived  us  in  this  mat 
ter,  and  spent  money  which  was  not  rightfully  your  own 
in  a  way  that  will  not  benefit  us  in  the  least." 

"  Do  you  refuse  to  accept  the  hospital  that  the  Great 
Father  has  in  kindness  and  love  provided  for  you  ?" 

"  We  do." 

"Very  well,  then,"  the  agent  smilingly  replied;  "it 
would  certainly  be  wrong  to  allow  so  noble  a  building  to 
go  to  waste,  and  therefore  I  will  move  into  it  with  my 
family." 

Which  he  accordingly  and  cheerfully  did. 

The  family  of  Gray  Coat  consisted  of  his  wife  and  two 
sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  seldom  made  his  appearance 


54  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

upon  the  reservation,  as  he  had  some  lucrative  office  un 
der  the  Great  Father  at  Washington.  The  younger  son 
was  a  vile  and  unprincipled  man,  who  brought  more 
agony  upon  my  heart  than  it  has  felt  from  all  other  sources 
and  causes  combined.  I  hated  him  from  the  moment  my 
eyes  first  saw  him,  and  I  instinctively  feared  that  some 
great  calamity  would  be  brought  by  him  upon  myself  and 
Prairie  Flower.  I  dreaded  him  as  I  should  dread  the  rat 
tlesnake  even  before  I  had  felt  its  fangs.  He  had  a  pecu 
liar  scar  upon  his  cheek,  and  thus  was  always  known  to 
my  people  by  the  name  of  Scar  Face. 

The  wife  of  Gray  Coat  was  a  most  gentle  and  lovable 
woman.  Many  were  the  kindnesses  that  she  showed  to 
my  people,  and  if  our  gratitude  could  be  known  to  her  in 
the  grave,  whither  she  was  sent  by  the  unnatural  and  in 
famous  blow  of  her  own  son's  hand,  she  might  be  repaid 
for  her  mercy  to  the  helpless.  Oh,  daily  from  hundreds 
of  hearts  a  prayer  goes  up  to  Wakanda  that  He  will  bless 
her  and  lead  her  through  all  the  beautiful  places  of  His 
Ma-shan,  because  she  remembered  in  love  those  who  were 
far  below  her,  just  as  she  is  below  Him  !  It  was  singular 
to  see  what  a  respect  and  even  love  Scar  Face  had  for  this 
noble  mother  during  her  whole  lifetime,  and  in  all  his 
lustful  and  reckless  deeds  he  took  care  that  not  a  word  of 
it  should  reach  her  ears.  He  feared  neither  the  laws  of 
Wakanda  nor  those  of  man,  yet  he  would  give  up  the 
most  fascinating  scheme  or  prospect  if  he  might  thereby 
give  pleasure  to  his  mother.  I  have  often  thought  how 
wonderful  and  how  wise  this  provision  of  our  nature  is, 
that  a  man,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  color  of  his  skin, 
will  reverence  and  adore  the  gray-haired  mother  who,  in 
great  pain  and  sorrow,  bore  him ;  and  if  he  be  wise  and 
diligent,  will  hasten  to  lay  at  her  feet  all  the  honors  or  pos 
sessions  he  has  wrested  from  the  world  ;  or  if  he  be  fool- 


THE  ARRIVAL   OF  GRA  Y  CO  A  T.  55 

ish  and  sinful,  will  be  kept  back  from  many  an  evil  deed 
and  many  a  cruel  wrong  by  the  sweet  remembrance  of  her 
love.  In  the  case  of  Scar  Face  this  peculiarity  of  his  na 
ture  saved  to  me  what  little  happiness  my  life  still  retains, 
and  therefore  wherever  I  shall  see  the  love  of  a  son  for  his 
mother,  whether  on  the  free  prairies,  where  my  people 
dwell,  or  among  the  grand  palaces  of  the  stronger  race, 
who  have  so  little  in  all  their  finery  and  elegance  to  at 
tract  my  heart,  I  shall  fall  down  and  worship  the  spec 
tacle. 

It  was  not  long  before  I  could  notice  the  most  marked 
change  in  the  interest  my  people  took  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil.  Hitherto  they  had  been  proud  of  their  prog 
ress  in  the  ways  and  customs  of  the  white  men,  but  now 
they  seemed  to  regard  them  as  tyrants,  and  all  desire  to 
become  like  them  was  destroyed.  The  farmer  who  had 
been  sent  to  teach  us  agriculture  made  a  great  show  of 
his  superior  knowledge ;  and  as  he  laughed  much  at  our 
simple  methods  without  showing  us  any  better  way,  there 
were  many  of  our  people  who  refused  to  work  at  all.  The 
agent  had  no  sympathy  with  our  worship  of  Wakanda, 
though  his  wife  secretly  encouraged  us  in  it,  and  when 
ever  he  could  interfere  with  it  he  seemed  to  take  a  par 
ticular  delight  in  doing  so.  On  many  occasions  he  forced 
us  to  work  upon  the  Sabbath  day,  which  in  obedience  to 
the  teachings  of  the  missionary  we  had  always  observed 
as  sacred.  He  openly  encouraged  the  thoughtless  ones 
among  our  people  to  disregard  our  worship,  and  spread 
arguments  against  Wakanda  wherever  he  could  find  ears 
to  hear.  In  short,  in  more  ways  than  I  have  words  to  ex 
press  he  ground  us  down  in  hated  slavery,  and  bound 
upon  us  exactions  and  cruelties  which  galled  the  soul  as 
no  spiked  collar  could  possibly  gall  the  neck. 

Can  the  white  men  hope  that  such  treatment  will  help 


5 6  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

us  up  to  a  level  with  themselves?  Do  they  not  know 
that  a  slave  is,  by  very  hatred,  kept  from  wishing  to 
become  like  his  master  ?  Is  it  not  the  testimony  of  their 
histories  that  in  all  subjugated  nations  the  inhabitants 
are  spurred  to  continual  revolt,  dash  themselves  against 
the  most  fearful  odds,  take  hope  by  brooding  upon  despair, 
grow  desperate  by  defeat,  and  plan  revenge  in  tears? 

There  is  a  beautiful  bird,  radiant  with  plumage  of  gold 
and  green,  which  flies  through  the  groves  of  the  West, 
and,  so  long  as  he  is  left  in  glorious  liberty,  he  takes  pride 
in  his  own  beauty  of  wing  and  feather.  But  when  the  bird 
has  been  caged  by  the  Indian  boy  behind  cruel  bars  of 
wild  cherry,  he  plucks  out  with  his  own  beak  all  the  beau 
tiful  feathers  he  can  reach,  as  if  determined  that  the  captor 
shall  not  be  delighted  with  the  glory  of  his  plumage,  since 
he  cannot  spread  his  wings  upon  free  boughs.  Thus  the 
simple  hearts  of  the  red  men  disdain  to  exhibit  forced 
virtues  to  their  tyrants,  and  if  they  cannot  be  instructed 
and  admired  as  brothers,  they  will  not  be  instructed  and 
admired  at  all.  This,  we  admit,  is  the  feeling  of  our 
hearts ;  are  we  to  be  shot  at  sight  because  it  is  so  ? 

Meanwhile  little  Prairie  Flower  and  I,  but  half  con 
scious  of  the  web  of  slavery  that  was  being  woven  around 
us,  were  happy  in  each  other's  love,  and,  like  twin  wild- 
roses,  lifted  up  smiling  faces  amid  thorns  which  pierced 
the  hearts  of  those  who,  being  older  and  more  experi 
enced,  could  appreciate  their  sharpness. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A   CHAPTER  OF   LOVE. 

I  HAVE  described  the  adventures  of  our  buffalo-hunt 
with  some  particularity,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  you 
how  deep  and  sacred  was  the  love  between  Prairie  Flower 
and  myself.  Thrown  thus  into  a  common  danger  and 
saved  thus  by  the  self-sacrificing  love  of  the  most  dear  to 
both  our  hearts,  we  came  to  regard  it  as  the  will  of 
Wakanda,  as  it  certainly  was  our  dearest  wish,  that  we 
should  live  for  each  other's  happiness.  It  was  not,  how 
ever,  until  some  years  after  the  events  described  in  that 
chapter  that  I  grew  to  know  what  this  love  really  was, 
that  was  rooted  in  my  soul,  and  found  courage  to  express 
my  love  plainly  to  her  and  ask  that  her  heart  might 
always  be  mine.  It  was  in  the  following  manner.  And  I 
may  venture  to  hope  that  the  simple  story  of  our  love  will 
not  be  uninteresting  to  you,  since  the  entire  bitterness  of 
the  events  I  must  by  and  by  describe  is  owing  to  the 
complete  and  sacred  surrender  of  our  hearts  each  to  the 
other. 

It  was  at  our  little  village  beside  the  shining  river.  For 
some  time  I  had  not  seen  as  much  of  Prairie  Flower  as 
during  the  period  of  our  childhood.  I  feared  that  her 
face  was  shadowed  from  me.  Our  quiet  strolls  together 
upon  the  divides  and  through  the  valleys  had  entirely 
ceased,  and  for  a  long  time  the  softer  cheek  than  mine 
had  not  rested  on  the  grass  beside  me.  All  this  I  knew 
was  right,  as  I  was  now  become  a  young  man  and  Prairie 
Flower  was  blooming  into  womanhood.  The  Indians  are 
exceedingly  careful  respecting  the  regulations  to  be  ob- 


5s  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

served  in  the  association  between  the  youths  of  different 
sex.  Not  even  a  brother  and  sister,  after  they  have  come 
up  out  of  childhood,  are  allowed  to  be  alone  together.  So 
that  I  perfectly  understood  Prairie  Flower's  feeling  in  the 
matter.  Still,  that  anxiety  which  is,  perhaps,  always  pres 
ent  to  real  love,  in  whatever  race,  was  in  my  heart  also,  and 
I  fancied  that  even  in  the  company  of  our  people  the  little 
maiden  avoided  me.  So  beautiful  a  girl  was  not  without 
other  admirers  among  our  people,,  and  though  I  had  at  one 
time  received  from  her  the  very  best  evidences  of  her  pref 
erence,  there  were  times  when  my  anxiety  that  she  should 
not  forget  me  or  prefer  another  overbalanced  by  far  my 
assurance  of  her  affection.  For  days  together  I  revolved 
the  matter  in  my  mind  as  I  sat  upon  the  river-banks  or 
strolled  along  the  shady  paths  in  the  woods.  What  if  she 
has  changed  in  these  changing  years,  I  thought,  and  looks 
back  with  laughing  wonder  at  her  childish  love  for  me? 
What  if  the  face  of  some  other  youth  seems  to  her  hand 
somer  than  mine  and  his  limbs  more  shapely?  But  no! 
true  love  can  never  change,  and  the  touch  of  our  childish 
cheeks  was  not  more  real  and  tender  than  the  touching  of 
our  hearts.  She  loved  me  once ;  has  she  changed,  or  have 
I  become  less  lovable?  If  she  did  not  love  me,  I  was  dis 
posed  to  assign  this  last  reason  for  it  rather  than  think 
that  she  could  change.  But  in  the  eyes  of  love  the  object 
could  never  be  other  than  lovely,  though  wrinkles  may 
have  come  upon  the  face  and  gray  hairs  upon  the  head. 
Oh  !  if  she  loves  me,  how  fair  the  days  will  be,  and  how 
bright  life  will  seem  !  but  if  she  loves  me  not — I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  think  of  such  utter  gloom  as  my  life  then 
would  be.  Rendered  miserable  by  these  alternate  emo 
tions,  I  determined  that  I  would  formally  present  my  love 
to  her,  in  the  presence  of  her  father,  as  is  the  custom  of 
my  people. 


A    CHAPTER   OF  LOVE.  59 

Early  one  radiant  evening  when  such  stars  as  had  come 
out  were  shining  above,  and  the  river  was  murmuring  as 
it  seemed  to  me  it  had  never  done  before,  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  carry  my  purpose  into  effect.  The  air  was  throb 
bing  with  all  the  busy  hum  of  night-life,  and  the  varied 
music  of  the  wind  sighing  through  different  lengths  of 
grass  soothed  and  encouraged  my  beating  heart.  It  was 
in  the  early  summer,  and  the  perfume  of  the  wild-rose  and 
balsam  delighted  the  sense  and  imparted  the  stimulus  of 
health  to  the  frame.  It  was  a  twilight  such  as  only  lovers 
can  rightly  appreciate. 

I  dressed  myself  in  my  gayest  garments,  and  over  my 
shoulder  I  flung  a  bright  blanket,  neatly  folded.  My  hunt 
ing-jacket,  leggings,  and  moccasins  were  richly  orna 
mented  with  beads,  and  by  my  side  hung  a  small  looking- 
glass,  supposed  by  the  youth  of  my  people  to  add  a 
particular  charm  to  the  appearance  of  the  wearer,  and  to 
render  much  assistance  in  the  matter  of  love-making. 
Around  my  neck  I  tied  a  necklace  of  bears'  claws,  belong 
ing  to  my  father.  This  necklace  was  of  particular  value 
from  the  fact  that  the  claws  where  white,  as  if  carved  out 
of  pure  pearl,  whereas  usually  the  claws  of  the  bear  have 
a  brownish  tinge.  From  the  necklace  hung  a  strip,  to  fall 
down  the  back,  of  the  finest  otter-skin,  ornamented  with 
rabbits'  ears,  tied  in  pairs,  and  dotted  with  brilliant  colors. 
Upon  this  pendant  also  were  two  or  three  medicine- 
charms,  supposed  to  be  of  great,  efficacy  in  the  healing  of 
diseases.  Thus  gallantly  arrayed,  I  started  for  the  home 
wherein  my  Prairie  Flower  bloomed. 

I  supposed  it  would  be  the  easiest  matter  in  the  world 
to  open  my  heart  to  her  on  this  subject  as  it  had  been 
opened  on  so  many  others.  Had  1  not  played  with  her 
from  the  moment  of  my  earliest  recollection  ?  Was  not 
her  sweet  smile  entwined  with  all  that  I  knew  of  life? 


60  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

Had  we  not  passed  days  together  by  the  river-side,  or 
wandering  in  search  of  plover's  eggs  upon  the  plains  ? 
And,  more  than  all,  had  we  not  had  shelter  under  one 
bosom  from  the  sharp  thrusts  of  the  Sioux's  arrow-points? 
Why  should  I  hesitate  to  tell  her  of  my  affection  when  I 
had  shown  it  to  her  so  often  ?  But  when  I  had  crossed 
the  open  place  in  our  village  that  I  have  spoken  of,  and 
came  near  the  spot  where  Um-pan-nez-zhe's  home  stood, 
my  courage  suddenly  deserted  me,  and  I  made  up  my 
mind  that  a  short  stroll  upon  the  open  prairie  would  pre 
pare  me  to  face  my  love.  Turning  from  my  course,  there 
fore,  I  bent  my  steps  to  the  grassy  valley-sides  where  I 
had  so  often  raced  with  her  in  our  sport,  and,  throwing 
myself  down  upon  my  back,  I  gazed  up  into  the  early 
stars,  and  wondered  why  I  was  so  timid.  The  stars 
seemed  to  whisper  the  answer :  "  It  is  because,"  they  said, 
"  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  childish  love  and  that 
expression  of  sober  and  tried  affection  that  manhood 
can  make.  It  is  one  thing  to  ramble  with  a  child-lover 
over  flower-spangled  prairies,  and  quite  another  to  woo  a 
wife,  to  be  to  thee  another  self.  Look  at  us.  See  how 
we  shine  in  glory,  remaining  in  our  glowing  places  not  for 
ourselves  alone,  but  for  the  lighting  of  the  world.  Let 
thy  affection  be  as  bright,  as  abiding,  and  as  unselfish. 
Be  thou  not  like  yonder  falling  meteors,  who,  disregard 
ing  duty,  dash  away  on  selfish  courses  ;  for  behold  in  their 
speedy  extinction  the  sure  type  of  every  selfish  career. 
Remember  this  in  thy  love  for  the  sweet,  blooming  Prairie 
Flower  and  thou  shalt  be  happy." 

While  I  thus  lay  thinking  and  listening,  I  saw  a  white, 
fluttering  object,  far  up  in  the  sky,  falling  down  toward 
me  through  the  gathering  gloom.  It  flitted  and  circled 
downwards,  and  reflected  from  its  bright  surface  the  rays 
of  the  rising  moon.  Quietly  the  object  descended  to  the 


A    CHAPTER   OF  LOVE.  61 

earth,  and  falling  lightly  at  my  feet,  proved  to  be  an  eagle's 
plume,  radiant  with  blended  gray  and  russet  and  heavy 
brown.  I  looked  to  discover  the  bird,  but  in  the  uncer 
tain  light  he  was  not  to  be  seen.  I  watched  to  see  him 
pass,  but  in  that  I  failed  as  well.  In  some  far  region  of 
infinite  space  the  grand  old  bird  was  sweeping  away,  but 
had  not  disdained  to  send  down  this  feathery  messenger 
of  his  good-will  to  the  cold  earth.  Oh,  what  lessons  that 
one  little  plume  taught  me  on  that  night  of  my  anxiety. 
It  taught  me  of  a  great  region  of  purity  and  excellence 
far  above  the  world  in  which  I  lived.  It  taught  me  that 
she  was  the  brightest  inhabitant  of  that  celestial  domain 
in  all  that  concerned  moral  elevation  and  dignity.  But  it 
also  taught  me  that  perhaps  she  would  send  down  to  me 
some  little  token  of  affection  which  I  might  treasure  side 
by  side  with  my  eagle's  plume.  As  I  thought  of  this  I 
sprang  up,  snatched  the  feather  from  the  grass,  and  deter 
mined  to  hasten  away,  lay  it  at  her  feet,  tell  the  simple 
story  of  how  it  had  fallen  at  mine,  and  beg  a  return  of  my 
great  love  for  her. 

Simple  as  this  purpose  seemed,  it  was  hard  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  Twenty  times  on  my  way  to  her  father's 
home  I  stopped,  threw  myself  on  the  grass,  and  half 
resolved  to  postpone  the  eventful  declaration.  Had  the 
prize  been  less  in  value,  I  should  have  turned  to  my  own 
home,  but  when  I  thought  of  her  sweet  face  and  simple 
ways  and  thrilling  voice,  I  could  not  but  go  forward.  And 
as  I  found  that  thinking  of  these  gave  me  courage  to 
advance,  I  bound  myself  to  think  of  nothing  but  these, 
and  so  I  reached  her  father's  door. 

I  found  him,  the  wise  Standing  Elk,  sitting  just  at  his 
door-step,  twisting  a  sinew  for  a  bow-string. 

"  Good-evening,  my  son,"  he  said  ;  "  have  you  been  on 
one  of  your  thinking-journeys  over  the  prairies?" 


62  I*  LOUGH  ED   UNDER. 

"  I  have  only  been  listening  to  the  night-music,"  I  said. 

"  But  what  have  you  in  your  hand  ?"  he  asked. 

"An  eagle's  plume,"  I  answered. 

"  And  did  you  find  it  out  on  the  prairie?" 

"Yes,"  I  said  shortly,  not  wishing  to  tell  the  story  of  the 
feather  until  the  one  for  whom  it  was  designed  could  hear. 

Of  course  the  wise  man  knew  whom  I  had  come  to  see, 
and  I  supposed  he  would  call  her  without  my  being 
obliged  to  ask  directly  for  her.  But  for  some  moments 
this  seemed  the  very  farthest  thing  in  all  the  world  from 
his  thoughts.  During  this  time  I  was  painfully  embar 
rassed  and  conscious  that  he  was  enjoying  my  perplexity. 
At  last  he  called : 

"  Prairie  Flower,  my  child,  there  is  a  looking-glass  and 
a  young  man  here,  and  they  both  wish  to  see  you." 

At  this  jocose  reference  to  my  attire  and  the  particular 
significance  in  love-making  of  the  ornament  mentioned, 
I  am  sure  my  cheeks  colored  deeply.  Nor  was  my  embar 
rassment  relieved  in  the  least  when  I  heard  Prairie  Flow 
er's  voice  saying  sweetly : 

"  It  seems  to  me  I  hear  a  voice  here,  beside  that  of  my 
father,  that  I  ought  to  know." 

Instantly  she  stepped  forth.  How  I  blessed  the  dear 
girl  for  not  partaking  of  her  father's  merriment !  And 
what  a  sly  little  maiden  she  was  that  she  did  not  even  look 
at  the  looking-glass  hanging  at  my  side,  which  betrayed 
my  purpose.  Nevertheless,  I  was  exceedingly  confused 
in  her  presence,  and  although  I  had  seen  her  almost  every 
day  of  my  life,  it  seemed  to  me  at  this  moment  that  I  had 
not  seen  her  for  years.  And  before  her  bright  smile  how 
soon  all  the  fascination  faded  from  the  story  of  the  eagle- 
plume!  It  seemed  the  most  simple  and  silly  thing  I  had 
ever  imagined,  and  I  instantly  determined  not  to  make 
any  use  of  it — at  least  on  that  occasion.  How  many  of 


A    CHAPTER   OF  LOVE.  63 

our  twilight  visions  seem  trivial  and  absurd  in  the  light  of 
day!  Her  smile  was  the  sunshine  in  which  my  carefully 
prepared  story  paled  to  insignificance. 

While  I  was  thinking  these  things,  an  awkward  silence 
reigned ;  but  Standing  Elk,  who  was  as  good  as  he  was 
wise,  noticing  the  rabbits'  ears  on  the  pendant  to  my  neck 
lace,  asked : 

"  Do  you  know,  my  children,  why  the  chief  of  our  peo 
ple  always  has  these  rabbit-ears  upon  the  necklace  that 
marks  his  chieftainship  ?" 

"  I  do  not,"  I  said,  eager  to  have  the  silence  broken, 
partly  because  it  was  exceedingly  painful  to  me,  and  partly 
because  I  really  delighted  in  the  wise  man's  stories. 

Prairie  Flower  likewise  protested  her  ignorance  in  the 
matter,  and  her  father,  with  the  greatest  consideration, 
turning  away  from  us,  thus  affording  me  an  opportunity 
to  sit  at  my  dear  one's  feet,  began  his  story: 

"  One  of  the  greatest  of  our  chiefs,  who  lived  many  years 
ago,  became  a  very  old  man  before  he  was  blessed  by 
Wakanda  with  the  gift  of  a  boy.  For  long  years  he  had 
wished,  and  the  whole  tribe  had  wished,  that  the  sound 
of  a  son's  voice  might  be  heard  within  his  wigwam,  that 
he  might  have  a  successor  in  the  chieftainship.  This  was 
before  the  good  Wa-ga-za  had  come  to  our  tribe,  and 
our  fathers  knew  no  better  way  than  to  practice  their  sim 
ple  rites  of  superstition,  hoping  thus  that  their  great  de 
sire  might  be  granted.  At  last  Wakanda  heard  their  un 
conscious  prayers,  and  a  son  was  born  to  the  chief.  Oh, 
how  they  tended  and  watched  him  during  his  infancy  and 
early  childhood  !  It  seemed  as  if  the  entire  hope  of  a 
proud  and  powerful  race  were  wrapped  up  in  one  little 
bosom.  The  wisest  men  were  chosen  for  his  instructors, 
and  the  most  careful  matrons  were  appointed  for  his 
nurses,  and  if  the  child  received  so  much  as  a  scratch  the 


64  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

one  through  whose  inattention  it  occurred  was  instantly 
put  to  death.  You  are  a  chief's  son  yourself,  but  you  can 
scarcely  appreciate  the  extreme  care  taken  by  the  entire 
tribe  of  that  tender  child's  life. 

"  One  day  the  father  of  the  boy  was  out  hunting,  to  se 
cure  for  his  son  a  savory  rabbit  or  a  tender  quail.  Be 
hind  a  little  sage-bush  he  discovered  what  he  supposed  to 
be  a  rabbit.  He  was  sure  that  he  saw  a  pair  of  rabbit's 
ears  bending  and  rising,  as  if  the  animal  were  picking  the 
sage  berries  and  leaves.  Instantly  he  let  fly  an  arrow,  and 
what  was  his  amazement  to  see  his  own  son  rise  from  be 
hind  the  sage-bush,  to  see  who  was  thus  interfering  with 
his  innocent  sport.  The  boy  had  escaped  from  his  sleep 
ing  nurse,  and  had  there  thrown  himself  down  to  enjoy 
the  beauty  of  all  things  around  him.  Clasped  to  his  bo 
som  he  held  a  pet  rabbit,  which  his  father  had  seen,  and 
the  ears  of  which  the  father's  arrow  had  smoothly  cut 
away.  The  chief  caught  his  boy  in  his  arms,  frantic  with 
delight  that  he  had  not  slain  his  own  child,  and  rushed 
wildly  back  to  camp.  The  nurses,  who  had  for  this  time 
been  forgiven  on  account  of  the  wild  joy  of  the  chief  that 
his  son  was  safe,  went  out,  found  the  rabbit's  ears,  which 
spake  so  plainly  of  their  own  carelessness  and  the  nurse 
ling's  narrow  escape,  tied  them  together  with  bright-col 
ored  thongs  of  deer-skin,  and  the  boy  ever  afterward  wore 
them  about  his  neck,  to  recall  this  crisis  of  his  life. 

"Thus,"  said  Standing  Elk,  completing  his  story,  "the 
chiefs  of  our  tribe,  descended  from  this  saved  boy,  have 
worn  upon  the  pendant  of  their  necklaces  a  succession  of 
rabbits'  ears,  tied  in  pairs,  and  bringing  to  their  memory 
the  simple  story  of  how  their  ancestor,  Ma-shti-gaNe-ta,* 
was  saved  from  the  arrow  of  his  father." 

When  the  wise  man  had  completed  his  story  he  relaxed 
into  deep  meditation.  I  was  naturally  very  deeply  im- 
*  Rabbit's  Ears. 


A    CHAPTER   OF  LOVE.  65 

pressed  by  what  he  had  said,  as  it  concerned  the  history 
of  one  of  my  own  ancestors,  and  explained  the  wearing  of 
an  emblem  which  I  would  be  required  to  wear  on  many 
important  occasions  if  I  should  live  to  become  a  chief. 
But  I  was  even  more  concerned  to  effect  the  real  object 
of  my  visit,  and  as  the  deep  meditation  of  the  wise  man 
rendered  us  practically  alone,  I  turned  to  Prairie  Flower 
and  said : 

"  And  what  do  you  think  of  this  pretty  story?" 

She  waited  a  moment  before  replying,  and  then,  look 
ing  up  shyly  and  sweetly  into  my  face,  she  said  : 

"  I  love  to  hear  these  simple  stories  of  our  people.  I 
do  not  know  much  about  them.  But  of  rabbit  ears,"  she 
whispered  after  a  moment,  "  I  know  only  this,  there  are 
always  two  of  them  found  together." 

This  was  said  with  such  a  pretty  meaning,  and  she 
looked  so  pretty  too,  that  without  further  consideration  I 
clasped  her  in  my  arms  and  exclaimed  : 

"  We  shall  be  like  rabbit-ears — we  two  found  always 
side  by  side!" 

Then  I  poured  into  her  ear  all  the  love  of  my  heart. 

"  Think,  my  sweet  Prairie  Flower,"  I  exclaimed,  "  how 
often  we  have  roamed  the  prairies  together  ;  shall  life  not 
be  one  great,  beautiful,  and  flower-dotted  plain  to  us? 
Think  how  many  times  as  children  we  have  whispered 
our  mutual  love;  shall  it  change  now,  that  we  are  simply 
older?  Think  how  the  self-sacrificing  pain  of  my  mother 
by  right,  and  thine,  wedded  us  in  the  most  sacred  way  at 
the  arrow-points  of  the  Sioux.  Shall  we  not  reaffirm  that 
right  to  each  other's  love  ?  Speak  to  me,  and  speak  hap 
piness  or  woe !" 

To  my  passionate  entreaty  the  little  maiden  simply 
looked  up  into  my  face  with  tears,  and  said  : 

"  Khta-we-tha !  *  Khta-we-tha !" 
*  •'  I  love  thee." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  WINNING  OF  A  NAME. 

THE  wise  man  seemed  to  be  by  no  means  startled  or 
displeased  by  the  turn  affairs  had  taken  when  he  returned 
from  his  absorbing  trip  of  meditation.  Calling  us  to  his 
side,  he  caused  us  to  kneel  there  and,  placing  a  hand  on 
each  of  our  heads,  said  : 

"  My  children,  dear  to  me  by  every  thought  and  memory 
that  can  make  us  treasure  an  object,  I  have  noticed  with 
joy  the  growth  of  your  affection,  and  now  see  with  the 
greatest  happiness  its  consummation.  The  prairie-cock 
could  never  watch  with  more  tenderness  the  feathering  of 
his  brood  of  two  nestlings,  the  others  having  been 
snatched  away  by  the  cold  rains  of  spring,  than  I  have 
watched  your  growth,  my  dears — the  one  the  last  of  a 
great  line  of  chiefs,  the  other  the  orphaned  last  of  as 
great  a  line  of  wise  men." 

"  I  boast,  my  son,"  he  said  to  me,  "but  I  boast  humbly, 
for  I  am  the  least  of  all  my  ancestors,  the  wise  men  that 
our  tribe  has  had.  Yet  I  am  glad  that  in  little  Prairie 
Flower  thou  wilt  have  a  wife  worthy  by  birth,  as  she 
certainly  is  by  character,  to  sleep  by  the  side  of  a  chief's 
son." 

"  Worthy ! "  I  cried;  "  noble  father,  she  dwells  far  above 
the  blue  region  which  my  lightest  arrow  could  find.  See ! 
You  asked  me  whence  I  got  my  eagle-plume.  It  fell  at 
my  feet  out  of  the  twilight  as  gray  as  it,  and  I  picked  it 
up  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  my  Prairie  Flower,  to  ask  that  she 
would,  like  the  eagle,  send  down  from  her  far  height  one 
little  token  of  love  to  my  heart." 


THE   WINNING  OF  A   NAME.  67 

"  You  can  talk  more  beautiful  words  than  I,"  Prairie 
Flower  whispered  to  me,  "  but  I  love  you  more !  The 
male  thrush  has  the  brightest  plumage  and  a  breast 
streaked  with  the  deepest  brown,  but  his  mate  has  the 
tenderest  heart.' 

•'  My  daughter,"  the  wise  man  said  to  her,  "  my  hair  is 
white — whiter  than  the  down  of  the  ripened  dandelion. 
But  as  the  flower  then  is  ready  to  fly  away  over  many 
valleys  and  live  again,  by  the  dropping  of  its  seed,  in  a 
score  of  young  and  fragrant  blossoms — so  I  shall  soon  be 
gathered  to  my  fathers ;  but  let  the  principles  of  my  wis 
dom  live  again  and  again  in  those  who,  if  Wakanda  please, 
shall  spring  from  thee.  I  saw  not  thy  mother  die ;  of  her 
cruel  and  unrighteous  murder  by  the  white  man  I  will 
tell  you,  again  ;  but  while  she  lived  she  had  but  one  wish 
for  thee,  that  thou  mightst  be  as  happy  and  true — happy 
because  true — in  thy  wedded  life  as  she  was  in  hers.  So 
I  charge  thee  to  do  thy  part  to  fulfill  her  wish." 

The  gentle  Prairie  Flower  could  only  answer  with  her 
tears. 

44  Give  me  thy  hand,  my  son,  and  thine,  my  daughter,  and 
as  I  unite  you  this  night  under  the  full  moon,  in  token 
of  your  love,  let  me  tell  you  the  nrst  principle  of  the  red 
man's  glory.  It  is  to  remember  your  fathers,  to  honor 
their  memories,  to  practice  their  virtues  and  defend  their 
graves.  In  you  the  lines  of  power  and  wisdom  meet;  in 
you  also,  and  in  all  your  actions,  let  power  and  wisdom 
blend.  Power  may  seem  to  have  a  dignity  and  value  want 
ing  to  mere  wisdom,  and  power  is  rightly  represented 
in  thee,  my  son.  But  wisdom  exerts  a  milder  influence 
and  a  mighty  because  gentle  restraint  upon  power,  so  that 
the  one  is  never  truly  itself  without  the  other,  and  thus 
wisdom  is  rightly  represented  in  thee,  my  daughter.  If 
you  thus  live  in  mutual  assistance,  you  will  be  able  to  call 


68  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

down  the  blessings  of  Wakanda  upon  the  members  of 
your  tribe,  as  the  tall  twin-trees  draw  the  showers  out  of 
the  sky  to  revive  the  shivering  aspens  that  grow  between 
them.  Thus  also  I  call  down  the  favor  of  Wakanda  to 
rest  upon  thee  now." 

"  We  thank  thee,"  we  said  together. 

"And  now  one  word  of  caution,"  the  wise  man  said. 
"  Have  you  ever  seen  the  young  red  foxes  mating  ?  They 
stare  upon  each  other  with  wide-open  eyes  for  some  min 
utes,  and  then  lie  down  side  by  side  in  the  shade  of  the 
rock  with  eyes  half  closed  as  if  perfectly  content.  Keep  your 
eyes  well  open  upon  each  other's  faults  while  you  are  in 
this  period  of  courtship,  but  when  you  are  married  let 
your  eyes  be  partly  closed,  in  charity  forbearing  with,  and 
in  love  helping  to  remove,  your  mutual  failings." 

After  taking  a  tender  leave  of  Prairie  Flower,  I  started 
toward  my  home.  What  emotions  and  joys  were 
entangled  together  in  my  heart !  I  seemed  to  tread  upon 
the  air.  The  dull  earth  could  not  rise  to  touch  my  feet. 
How  brightly  the  moon  shone  upon  the  tips  of  the  river- 
waves,  and  how  the  distant  barking  of  a  pack  of  coyotes 
seemed  but  to  hail  me  to  honor  and  happiness  !  The 
evening  breeze  had  never  had  such  delightful  freshness 
for  my  cheeks,  and  I  had  never  seen  our  village  so  peace 
ful  and  beautiful  as  it  now  appeared,  slumbering  in  the 
moonlight.  I  knew  that  1  was  far  too  happy  to  sleep,  and 
so  1  turned  my  steps  again  toward  the  prairie  to  think  it 
r.ll  calmly  over  and  charge  the  pale  stars  to  keep  watch 
over  my  love. 

Such  is  the  strange  paradox  of  our  natures,  however, 
that  even  in  this  moment  of  my  greatest  happiness  I 
was  haunted  with  a  feeling  of  unworthiness  and  misery. 
In  my  heart  the  counter-currents  of  emotions  met  and 
swirls  of  anxiety  were  formed,  wilder  and  fiercer  than  the 


THE   WINNING  OF  A   NAME.  69 

eddies  my  boat  had  often  passed  upon  the  shifting  Mis 
souri.  My  thoughts  were  much  engaged,  as  I  walked 
along,  with  one  of  the  most  rigid  of  our  customs  which  I 
had  never  fulfilled.  My  people  had  always  held  that  a 
man  was  not  worthy  a  fair  maiden  until  he  had  performed 
some  feat  of  bravery  or  skill  of  sufficient  prominence  to 
distinguish  him  ever  after.  It  is  perhaps  known  to  you 
that  we  get  our  names  from  some  remarkable  circum 
stance  attending  our  early  lives  or  some  exploit  accom 
plished  by  us  in  youthful  years.  My  Prairie  Flower  her 
self  received  her  name  from  the  fact  that  when  her 
mother  took  her  forth  for  the  first  time  to  see  the  broad 
valleys  among  the  mountains  where  she  was  born,  she  bent 
forward,  babe  that  she  was,  and  clapped  her  little  hands 
in  the  highest  joy  when  she  saw  the  wild  flowers  spring 
ing  around  her.  I  thought  of  this  and  of  all  the  stories  I 
had  heard  around  the  camp-fires,  of  how  each  member  of 
our  tribe  had  obtained  a  title  of  honor.  But  I  was 
still  known  as  Eagle  Wing's  son — a  title  proud  indeed,  yet 
not  sufficient  to  commend  me  to  the  consideration  of  my 
people.  While  I  had  not  been  unsuccessful  in  fishing, 
and  had  always  been  among  the  first  in  the  chase,  I  had 
not  performed  any  individual  act  of  prowess  sufficient  to 
give  me  a  distinguishing  title.  So  much  of  my  time  had 
been  given  to  musing  under  the  trees  that  I  had  employed 
little  in  pursuits  which  would  throw  me  into  places  of 
danger.  Thus  I  had  acquired  the  reputation  of  an  idler 
among  our  people,  much  to  the  uneasiness  of  my  father, 
who  frequently  placed  before  me  the  glory  of  my  ances 
tors  and  warned  me  not  to  tarnish  their  name.  There 
was  an  additional  circumstance  that  rendered  my  condi 
tion  a  perplexing  one.  The  longer  the  exploit  was  post 
poned  the  more  my  people  expected  that  it  would  be  a  great 
one,  and  while  the  crushing  of  a  wild  bee  might  have  suf- 


70  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

ficed  in  my  childhood,  the  slaying  of  a  bear  at  least  was 
demanded  now.  It  is  perhaps  difficult  for  the  white  man 
to  realize  how  firmly  this  custom  would  become  rooted, 
in  the  course  of  many  years,  in  the  hearts  of  a  simple  race. 
We  clung  to  it  as  sincerely  and  regarded  it  with  as  much 
veneration  as  a  far  graver  principle  might  be  held  among 
a  more  cultured  race. 

Thinking  upon  these  things  materially  marred  the  hap 
piness  with  which  I  had  started  out  upon  my  walk.  My 
step  had  gradually  quickened,  as  I  was  distressed  and 
stimulated  by  these  musings,  and,  without  taking  note  of 
distance,  I  sped  rapidly  over  the  prairies,  crushing  the 
flowers  recklessly  and  caring  little  that  I  aroused  many  a 
bird  from  her  night-perch.  At  last  I  came  to  a  little 
grove  of  pines  nestling  around  a  sunken  basin  of  a  few 
yards'  width,  and,  casting  myself  under  one  of  these  trees, 
I  cried  passionately : 

"  I  will  do  something  great.  I  will,  for  her  sake,  distin 
guish  myself.  Oh  !  why  have  I  watched  the  shadows  on 
the  hillsides  when  I  should  have  been  following  the  trail 
of  the  bear  or  crouching  under  sage-cover  for  the  lion  of 
the  mountains  ?  What  fatal  spell  has  made  a  sluggard  of 
me  when  I  love  so  truly  and  wish  so  much  that  my  little 
Prairie  Flower  should  not  blush  for  me?  Oh  that  the 
glory  of  my  ancestors  should  thus  cease  !  Has  their  blood 
run  into  water  in  the  long  course  before  it  reached  my 
veins?" 

Bitterly  I  wept  that  night  as  the  moon-rays  trickled 
down  to  me  through  the  pine-fringes.  It  was  the  storm 
which  at  the  evening  relieves  the  passionate  heat  of  the 
summer  day. 

"  Show  me  some  enemy  worthy  of  a  chief's  son!"  I  cried, 
springing  up  and  looking  wildly  around. 

That  look  was  the  first  notice  I  had  that  the  event  I  had 


THE   WINNING  OF  A   NAME.  71 

so  often  wished  was  close  at  hand.  Peering  at  me  from 
beneath  the  underbrush,  I  saw  four  points  of  fire.  As  I 
looked  at  them,  they  seemed  to  expand  and  to  assume 
the  shape  of  interwoven  rings  of  many  hues,  always  com 
ing  back  to  the  points  of  fire  when  I  had  looked  away  or 
closed  my  eyes  for  a  moment.  Well  did  I  know  that  a 
pair  of  animals  were  glaring  at  me  from  their  lair;  but  of 
what  description  they  were  I  could  not  tell.  Thought 
at  such  a  time  travels  fast,  and  a  hundred  possibilities 
instantly  sprang  into  my  mind.  Were  they  simply  badg 
ers,  eying  me  from  the  rim  of  their  burrow  and  wishing 
but  to  find  a  moment  in  which  to  make  a  sure  retreat  into 
the  ground  ?  Or  were  they  the  dreadful  wild-cats,  lashing 
their  sides  in  the  shade  of  the  underbrush  and  licking  their 
lips,  while  they  purred  softly  to  each  other  in  anticipation 
of  a  lapping  feast  of  blood  ?  Were  they  the  tassel-eared 
lynxes  to  creep  slyly  after  me  when  I  should  turn  home 
ward,  to  see  if  some  stronger  animal  should  fell  me  to  the 
earth  that  they  might  then  come  in  and  share  the  spoil? 
Or  were  they  a  brace  of  lions  who  had  bounded  down 
from  the  foot-hills  in  search  of  prey,  which  they  would  con 
vey  thither  again  before  the  morning  appeared?  These 
thoughts  flashed  through  my  mind,  and  it  was  a  matter 
of  deep  concern  with  me  which  conjecture  was  the  true  one. 
I  had  no  weapon  save  a  small  hunting-knife,  which  by 
mere  accident  lay  in  the  pocket  of  my  jacket.  Still,  in 
my  present  mood,  I  sincerely  hoped  that  a  fierce  encoun 
ter  might  be  awaiting  me,  that  in  one  night  I  might  gain 
a  bride  and  a  name.  I  distinctly  remember  also  that  in 
that  hour  of  my  first  consciousness  of  real  peril  I  was 
perfectly  cool,  more  so  than  I  had  ever  imagined  would 
be  the  case,  and,  as  I  held  my  hunting-knife  in  my  hand 
and  ran  my  finger  along  its  keen  edge,  not  a  muscle  quiv 
ered.  All  this  took  but  a  moment,  though  it  requires 


72  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

some  time  to  tell  it.  The  echo  of  my  wild  cry  had  scarce 
died  on  the  farther  margin  of  the  little  pool  when  I  deter 
mined  upon  a  course  of  action. 

I  knew  that  the  best  way  to  discover  the  intent  of  a 
wild  animal  is  to  appear  to  retreat  from  him.  If  he  is 
peaceably  disposed,  he  will  also  retreat;  but  if  thirsting 
for  blood,  he  will  think  his  moment  of  opportunity  has 
come  and  will  dash  upon  you.  The  fiercest  wild  animal 
is  naturally  a  coward  in  the  presence  of  man,  and,  unless 
wounded,  waits  for  some  advantage  before  making  an 
attack.  Knowing  all  this,  I  took  a  few  cautious  steps 
backward,  keeping  my  eyes,  however,  fixed  upon  the  spots 
of  fire.  Instantly  a  fierce  noise,  between  a  growl  and  a 
bark,  issued  from  among  the  fire-points,  and  I  could  have 
no  further  doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  the  animals  before 
me.  They  were  the  savage  timber-wolves,  the  most 
dreaded  because  the  most  active,  knowing,  and  treacher 
ous  foes  that  man  has  among  the  animals  of  the  plains. 
Well  did  I  know  that  a  conflict  was  before  me  in  which 
the  utmost  bravery  and  skill  would  be  required,  and  that 
the  conflict  could  end  only  in  utter  death  of  one  party  or 
the  other.  Little  howls  of  a  whole  pack  of  young  wolves 
now  I  heard,  and  I  knew  that  alone,  and  unarmed  save 
with  one  small  knife,  I  had  burst  into  a  den  whence  the 
she-wolf  allows  no  one  to  pass  out  except  over  her  dead 
body.  As  I  retreated,  therefore,  I  was  not  surprised  to  see 
the  points  of  fire  follow  me,  and  when  I  stopped,  knowing 
no  flight  could  give  me  safety,  the  blazing  eyes  crouched 
among  the  aspen  leaves  as  before,  except  that  they  were 
much  nearer  now. 

I  knew  they  were  crouching  for  the  spring.  In  the 
dread  moment  that  ensued,  a  picture  of  my  whole  life 
passed  before  my  mind.  The  scenes  and  dangers  of  my 
childhood,  the  shining  of  the  great  river,  the  blossoming 


THE   WINNING  OF  A   NAME.  73 

of  the  wild-flowers  I  had  loved  so  much,  the  wide  stretches 
of  grassy  prairies  I  had  crossed,  every  minute  fault  I  had 
had,  the  sounding  of  every  passionate  word,  the  thudding 
of  every  revengeful  blow,  the  sweet  presence  of  my  mother 
and  the  smiles  of  my  Prairie  Flower,  whom  possibly  I  was 
about  to  lose  forever, — all  this,  and  many  other  things  that 
I  had  hoped  to  forget,  flashed  before  me,  and  I  saw  it  all 
plainly.  Sometimes  in  the  darkness  of  the  storm  a  sud 
den  flash  of  lightning  lights  up  the  whole  village  in  which 
J  had  lived  all  these  years,  and  I  can  see  the  outline  of 
every  familiar  house  and  play-spot,  and  then  all  dies  into 
darkness  again.  So  some  strange  quick  gleam  lit  up  old 
scenes  for  me,  and  forgotten  memories  and  buried  hopes, 
in  that  moment  when  I  waited  for  the  she-wolf's  spring. 

I  waited  not  long.  Two  shaggy  and  mighty  brutes 
dashed  upon  me  and  I  fell  to  the  earth.  Fortunately  in 
the  fall  I  happened  to  catch  the  fore-paw  of  one  of  the 
wolves  in  my  left  hand,  and  knowing  it  to  be  exceedingly 
sensitive  I  clutched  it  with  the  might  of  despair,  crushing 
its  joints  together  and  causing  the  animal  such  intense 
pain  that  it  could  inflict  very  little  injury  upon  me. 
Against  the  other  wolf  I  plied  my  knife  vigorously.  This 
proved  to  be  the  she-wolf,  and  against  her  I  knew  I  must 
carefully  defend  my  throat.  So  I  kept  my  knife  flying  be 
fore  this  part  of  my  body,  and  at  every  dash  she  made,  as 
she  stood  growling  horribly  above  me,  I  would  thrust  it 
into  her  breast  or  neck.  The  wolf  whose  paw  I  held  at 
last  fastened  himself  upon  my  left  arm ;  the  she-wolf  tore 
the  flesh  from  my  right  side  with  her  claws,  and  from  my 
right  shoulder  with  her  venom-dripping  teeth.  1  know 
not  how  long  the  struggle  continued,  but  at  last  with  a 
fortunate  thrust  of  my  knife  I  pierced  her  heart  and  the 
foul  brute  fell  over  upon  the  decayed  pine-fringes,  dead. 
Still  holding  on  to  the  paw  of  the  other  wolf,  I  rose  to  a 


74  PLOU'GHED  UNDER. 

sitting  posture  and  soon  succeeded  in  giving  him  a  death 
blow,  and  with  one  howl  of  mingled  pain  and  rage  he 
rolled  heavily  to  the  earth.  Then  with  a  sigh  of  relief  I 
fell  back  and,  faint  from  loss  of  blood,  became  unconscious. 

When  I  opened  my  eyes  again  I  was  surrounded  by  a 
party  of  my  people  whom  my  father  had  sent  upon  my 
trail  to  find  me.  It  was  midday,  and  as  I  became  con 
scious  after  the  long  period  since  my  severe  contest  I  felt 
exceedingly  faint  and  weak.  On  one  side  of  me  lay  the 
she-wolf  and  on  the  other  her  mate,  in  whose  bloody  flank 
my  hunting-knife  still  was  sticking. 

54  Thou  hast  done  bravely  !''  the  leader  of  the  party  ex 
claimed.  "  Thou  shalt  worthily  succeed  thy  father." 

The  other  members  of  the  party  were  full  of  admiration, 
and  I  found  that  they  had  already  bound  up  my  wounds 
with  such  natural  balsams  as  the  red  man  knows  where  to 
find  and  how  to  prepare,  and  had  tied  together  a  frame 
work  of  wild  aspens  upon  which  to  carry  me  back  to  our 
village. 

We  soon  set  out  upon  the  return,  and  although  my 
wounds  were  beyond  expression  painful,  I  forgot  their 
heat  and  agony  when  those  who  conducted  me  so  loudly 
and  generously  praised  my  exploit.  A  runner  was  sent 
forward  to  tell  the  people  of  our  approach,  and  to  rehearse 
the  story  of  how  I  had  conquered  the  two  fierce  wolves,  so 
that  the  whole  village  turned  out  to  meet  us,  with  my 
father  at  their  head. 

"  Bravely  hast  thou  upheld  the  glory  of  thy  ancestors, 
my  son,"  my  father  said. 

"  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha"  *  shall  be  thy  name,"  said  the  wise 
Um-pan-nez-zhe. 

Sweet  Prairie  Flower  was  in  the  throng,  and  though  she 

*  Wolf  Killer. 


THE  WINNING  OF  'A   NAME.  75 

said  nothing  to  me,  her  hands  were  full  of  salves  for  my 
hurts,  and  her  eyes  were  full  of  proud  tears.  And  as  we 
advanced  into  the  village,  past  the  familiar  play-ground 
and  before  the  well  known  houses,  the  people  made  the 
hills  to  echo  with  their  shout:  "Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha!  Sha- 
ta-ga-dta-tha!" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BITTER     COUNSEL. 

THUS  I  acquired  the  name  by  which  I  have  ever  since 
been  known.  I  was  required  again  and  again  to  repeat 
the  story  of  the  contest  with  the  wolves  to  the  people  of 
our  village,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  their  admiration  of 
my  bravery  could  not  have  been  so  hearty  if  it  had  not 
been  sincere.  This  generous  praise  helped  me  to  bear 
the  pain  of  my  wounds  without  complaint,  and  indeed  I 
gloried  in  them  as  removing  the  stain  that  had  previously 
rested  upon  my  nameless  youth.  Even  the  young  men  of 
the  tribe  who  had  been  my  rivals  in  hoping  to  secure  the 
affections  of  Prairie  Flower  were  very  noble  in  their 
praise,  professing  that  not  one  of  them  could  have  done 
the  deed.  When  one  of  the  young  eaglets  has  stolen  a 
lamb  and  flown  with  it  to  his  rocky  nest  the  others  of  the 
brood  gather  fluttering  round  and  scream  with  defiant 
delight,  while  the  old  bird  blesses  all  with  hovering  wing. 
Thus  was  I  the  praised  of  our  village.  In  the  attentions 
of  my  little  bride,  however,  I  had  the  most  delight.  It 
was  now  known  to  all  the  tribe  that  we  were  to  be  mar 
ried,  and  thus  she  was  permitted,  by  our  social  customs. 
to  wait  upon  me  during  my  recovery,  always,  however,  in 
the  presence  of  my  mother.  The  heart  of  her  who  had 
sustained  such  pain  without  a  murmur  to  save  my  little 
friend  and  me  from  the  Sioux  was  gladdened  now  and 
doubly  repaid  by  seeing  the  happiness  we  had  in  love, 
and  so  our  mother's  presence  was  no  restraint  upon  us. 

On  one  of  the  days  when  Prairie  Flower  was  beside  me 
she  asked : 

"  What  made  thee  so  brave,  my  Wolf  Killer  ?    How 


BITTER   COUNSEL.  77 

bold,  to  stand  alone  against  the  terrible  beasts,  and  in 
the  night  too,  when  there  were  no  eyes  to  see  thee  and 
inspire  thee  with  courage  !  " 

"  I  fought  for  love  of  thee  ! "  I  answered.  "  The  bright 
ness  of  thy  presence  in  thought  gave  me  light,  and  the 
hope  to  win  thy  smile  gave  me  strength." 

"  I  prayed  to  Wakanda  for  thee,"  she  answered,  "for  I 
felt  a  strange  fear  for  thy  safety." 

"  No  obstacle  is  now  between  our  union,"  I  said  joy 
fully,  "and  no  longer  will  you  blush  for  being  loved  by  a 
nameless  youth.  O  my  blooming  Flower,  what  happi 
ness  we  shall  know  I" 

"  I  knew  that  thou  wouldst  prove  thyself  brave,"  she 
said.  "  Even  the  little  wren  needs  but  a  moment  of  dan 
ger  to  show  the  strength  there  is  in  her  tiny  wing  and  the 
courage  in  her  russet  breast.  I  knew  that  if  Wakanda 
granted  thee  but  the  opportunity  thou  wouldst  reveal  thy 
might  and  bravery.  There  is  truly  no  obstacle  between 
us  now,  save  one.  Thou  must  recover.  And  that  it  may 
be  speedily  and  happily  accomplished  talk  no  more,  but 
sleep  thus  upon  my  arm,while  I  watch  and  sing  beside  thee." 

Then  in  a  sweet  low  voice,  such  as  could  only  be  caught 
from  a  constant  dwelling  amid  prairie  music,  she  sang  a 
little  strain  of  her  own  composing.  It  may  not  be  known 
to  you  that  the  better  tribes  among  the  red  men  love  to 
sing  many  little  melodies,  and  our  music  is  dear  to  us, 
although  it  might  seem  simple  or  even  monotonous  to 
those  who  admire  the  strained  modulations  that  are  heard 
in  cultured  nations.  A  most  imperfect  translation  of  my 
Prairie  Flower's  song  might  run  as  follows : 

The  wild  thrush  lines  her  nest  with  moss, 

And  builds  a  shade  above,  dear; 
So  would  1  screen  thy  rest  from  harm, 

So  soften  it  with  love,  dear. 


78  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

For  me,  as  bravely  thou  hast  fought, 

So  tenderly  I'll  watch  thee, 
Most  happy  that  thou'rt  safe,  my  love 

Nay!  that  thou  still  dost  love  me. 

The  wild  bee  will  not  sleep  in  shade, 

But  perches  in  the  morn-ray; 
So  in  thy  love's  light  would  I  bask, 

Which  e'er  shall  be  my  noonday. 

The  sweet  winds  whisper  of  thy  skill, 

But  sweeter  I  shall  sing  it; 
The  Shon-ga's  *  mane  thy  fame  shall  toss 

From  every  knotted  ringlet. 

Sleep  on,  my  love,  renew  thy  strength, 

Confess  thee  conquered  never; 
The  wild  buds  blossom  once  and  die, 

But  thou  shalt  bloom  forever. 

When  other  conflicts  thou  dost  meet, 

Wakanda  still  shall  guide  thee; 
Through  life,  in  death,  oh  let  me  pray 

Thou'lt  only  rest  beside  me. 

By  the  soft  tones  of  her  voice  I  was  soothed  into  a 
refreshing  repose,  which  did  far  more  to  restore  me  than 
many  unguents  could  have  done. 

One  beautiful  evening,  when  I  had  gained  sufficient 
strength  to  sit  up,  my  father  helped  me  out  to  a  little 
camp-fire,  before  which  Standing  Elk  and  Prairie  Flower, 
with  my  mother,  were  already  seated.  They  gave  me  a 
comfortable  seat  at  my  father's  right  hand,  the  place  of 
honor.  I  motioned  my  little  bride  to  come  and  sit  beside 
me,  which  she  gladly  consented  to  do,  and  during  the 
evening  she  held  my  hand  in  both  her  own. 

The  conversation  naturally  turned  upon   my  conflict 

*  Pony's.  Reference  is  here  made  to  the  Indians'  custom  of  tying 
Itnots  in  the  manes  of  their  ponies  in  token  of  bravery. 


BITTER   COUNSEL.  79 

with  the  wolves,  and  my  father  seemed  to  find  peculiar 
pleasure  in  rehearsing  the  difficulties  of  it.  He  was  usually 
very  silent,  as  became  a  chief.  His  noble  face  had  always 
been  stern  to  me,  although  his  own  and  only  living  child. 
When  in  camp  he  was  accustomed  to  pass  backward  and 
forward,  demanding  the  greatest  homage  from  his  follow 
ers,  and  striking  all  with  admiration  of  his  immense 
figure,  straight  as  an  arrow  and  sinewy  as  a  bow.  How 
often  had  I  seen  his  majestic  form  pass  around  the  camp 
in  the  dim  starlight  when  any  danger  might  be  near,  and 
how  I  thought,  as  he  came  and  went,  of  another  Father 
who  never  sleeps  at  all !  His  character  being  thus  august 
and  almost  forbidding,  it  was  with  particular  delight  that 
I  heard  him  converse  so  freely  and  proudly  of  what  I  had 
done. 

After  a  few  moments  of  conversation  upon  this  theme  a 
short  space  of  silence  fell  upon  the  little  group.  The  pine- 
knots  blazed  up  weirdly,  and  their  light  seemed  to  watch 
the  covert  creeping  of  the  shadows  until  they  came  too 
near,  and  then  it  would  spring  brightly  forth  and  drive  the 
darkness  to  the  woods  again.  We  all  gazed  into  the  fire, 
and  upon  the  faces  of  all  came  a  look  of  solemnity.  Pos 
sibly  there  was  something  in -the  dying  embers  to  inspire 
that  look,  or  perhaps  we  were  all  unconsciously  thinking 
of  the  same  deep  meaning  that  life  has  to  the  simple- 
hearted.  Upon  the  face  of  the  wise  man  particularly 
there  was  a  look  of  the  most  intense  awe.  Prairie  Flower 
touched  my  arm  gently  and  pointed  to  it.  At  last  he 
broke  the  silence  and  began  one  of  the  most  important 
conversations  it  has  been  my  lot  to  hear. 

"  There  is  a  fiercer  foe  to  the  red  man  than  even  the 
she  wolf  robbed  of  her  young,"  he  said. 

There  was  a  moment  of  deep  silence  around  the  camp- 
fire. 


So  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

"Thou  hast  spoken  truly,"  my  father  answered  with  the 
greatest  solemnity. 

"Tell  us,  Eagle  Wing,"  the  wise  man  then  said  to  him, 
"tell  this  son  and  daughter  of  thine  and  mine  who  is  the 
worst  foe  of  the  Indian  race." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  slow  and  august  tone  my  father 
used,  as,  straightening  himself  up  to  his  full  height  and 
looking  sadly  out  upon  our  fields,  he  answered  : 

"  Wa-gha! "  * 

"The  white  man  !  "  I  demanded,  incredulous. 

"  Yes,  my  son,"  Eagle  Wing  replied,  "  the  white  man. 
This  glorious  land,  running  so  wild  with  rivers  and  bloom 
ing  back  Wakanda's  smile  in  such  wealth  of  flowers,  once 
belonged  to  the  red  man,  and  of  most  of  it  he  has  been 
shamelessly  robbed.  If  those  of  our  race  who  have  been 
slain  by  the  white  man  should  spring  up  from  the  sod  as 
trees,  there  would  be  one  broad  moaning  forest  from  the 
great  river  to  the  sea.  Those  of  us  whose  lives  have  been 
spared  are  sneered  at,  despised,  enslaved,  and  spit  upon  as 
dogs." 

"  But,"  I  asked,  "  are  not  the  white  men  boasters  of  their 
love  of  liberty  ?  Do  they  not  profess  to  offer  all  men  an 
asylum  from  oppression  and  outrage  ?  Do  they  not  claim 
to  be  the  helpers  of  the  weak  and  the  upholders  of  those 
who  fall  ?  " 

"  My  son,"  he  answered,  with  a  look  such  as  I  have  seen 
his  face  wear  only  in  battle,  "  the  foulest  scum  of  every 
nation  under  the  stars  can  come  to  the  Great  Father's 
land  and  be  protected  and  blessed  by  equal  laws,  but  the 
red  men,  the  original  owners  of  the  land,  are  trodden  in 
the  mire  and  esteemed  worse  than  brutes.  The  bald 
eagle  is  their  chosen  emblem,  but  as  you  have  seen  this 

*  "The  white  man!" 


BITTER   COUNSEL.  8l 

noble  bird  upon  the  banks  of  yonder  river  snatch  the 
putrid  carrion  from  the  very  lips  of  the  wolf,  so  will  the 
white  man  debase  himself  to  rob  and  outrage  the  poorest 
member  of  our  unhappy  race.  Of  all  the  many  treaties 
we  have  made  with  the  Great  Father  scarce  a  score  have 
they  honored  with  even  the  pretense  of  keeping." 

"  Why  not  rise,  and  join  with  other  bands  of  our  peo 
ple,"  I  exclaimed,  "  and  sweep  the  white  man  from  the 
land!" 

"  My  son,  your  words  accord  with  the  message  I  received 
not  many  days  sjnce  from  certain  of  the  great  chiefs  far 
to  the  west  of  us.  While  thou  wert  lying  too  severely 
hurt  to  be  informed  of  any  startling  thing,  a  messenger 
came  from  these  chiefs  to  me.  He  had  in  his  hand  the 
tomahawk  of  the  greatest  chief  of  all,  and  thus,  as  is  the 
custom  of  our  people,  I  knew  that  he  was  a  trustworthy 
runner  and  that  his  words  would  be  true.  If  he  said  one 
word  that  is  false,  our  customs  demand  that  he  shall  die 
as  soon  as  he  returns  to  his  band.  This  young  man 
rehearsed  the  names  of  the  chiefs  who  had  sent  him,  and 
added  this  message:  •  Come  to  us  with  your  warriors  and 
people.  Let  us  meet  among  the  sand-hills.  There  let  us 
await  the  coming  of  the  white  men,  and  die  in  one  last 
battle.  As  it  now  is,  we  die  like  dogs.  Let  us  be  men. 
There  is  a  universal  tradition  among  our  race  that  a  noble 
chief,  Tecumseh  by  name,  dreamed  of  a  time  when  his 
people  would  unite  themselves  together  in  one  last  stand 
against  the  white  men.  That  time  has  come!'  For 
many  hours  we  solemnly  thought  of  the  message  in  our 
wigwams  and  when  a  council  was  held — " 

"  Of  course  you  said  you  would  go.  Da-de-ha  !  Da-de- 
ha  !*  tell  me  you  will  go ! " 

*  "  My  father." 


82  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  We  said  to  the  messenger,  '  We  will  wait.  The  eyes 
of  some  of  the  white  men  are  turned  toward  us  in  sym 
pathy.  We  will  see  if  they  will  grant  us  their  law.  If  not, 
we  can  but  die.  If  we  act  with  treachery,  we  shall  be 
despised  by  the  white  men  and  by  ourselves  as  well.  If 
we  suffer  patiently,  we  shall  at  least  not  despise  ourselves, 
and  that  is  something.'  Then  we  sent  the  messenger 
away." 

"  You  sent  him  away  !     You  feared  to  fight ! " 

"  My  son,  thou  little  understandest  the  power  of  our 
oppressors.  They  have  mighty  revenues  and  well-trained 
armies.  The  minnow  is  not  more  within  the  power  of 
the  fish-hawk  when  clutched  in  its  talons  than  we  are 
within  the  absolute  control  of  the  whites.  It  is  for  us  to 
submit  patiently,  to  be  oppressed  without  answering,  to 
be  spit  upon  without  shrinking,  and  to  die  without  a 
murmur." 

With  these  words  the  grand  chief,  my  noble  father, 
wrapped  his  blanket  about  him  and  with  a  strange  look  of 
craven  submission  upon  his  majestic  features  took  his 
seat  beside  us. 

"But,  my  father,"  I  exclaimed,  "even  if  we  might  not 
sweep  the  white  man  from  the  earth,  we  may  at  least  slay 
those  of  his  race  who  come  within  our  reach.  We  may 
avenge  many  a  drop  of  blood  by  many  an  individual  sacri 
fice.  The  Missouri  cannot  bear  yonder  mountain  bodily 
away  to  the  sea,  but  it  can  tear  many  a  particle  of  earth 
or  rock  from  its  side." 

To  this  my  father  made  no  answer.  He  was  wrapped 
in  deep  meditation.  Seeing  which,  the  wise  man  turned 
to  me  and  impressively  said  : 

"  Never  slay  a  white  man.  Bear  to  be  robbed,  bear  to 
be  tortured,  bear  to  be  murdered,  bear  to  see  thy  wife  torn 
from  thee  and  outraged  in  thy  sight — " 


BITTER   COUNSEL.  83 

"  What !"  I  exclaimed,  interrupting  him,  "  bear  to  have 
this  blooming  Flower  polluted  by  the  breath  of  foul  evil  ? 
Can  you,  her  father,  counsel  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I,  her  loving  father,  insist  upon  it,  and  further 
say,  bear  to  have  thy  children  scattered  limb  from  limb 
before  the  whirlwind  of  their  wrath,  but  never  slay  a  white 
man,  never  answer  him  with  sneers." 

"Thou  art  teaching  me  to  be  a  coward,"  I  cried. 

"  I  am  teaching  thee  to  be  truly  brave,"  he  answered. 
"  It  is  the  part  of  a  brave  man  to  bear  any  personal  harm 
and  agony  rather  than  bring  death  upon  those  to  whom 
he  has  no  right  to  cause  distress." 

"  What  is  thy  dark  meaning  ?"  I  implored. 

"  My  meaning  is  this.  The  white  men  hold  the  entire 
tribe  responsible  for  the  fault  of  one  of  its  members.  If 
you  should  kill  a  white  man,  however  just  might  be  your 
grievance,  the  papers  which  daily  appear  in  all  their  cities 
would  represent  you  as  bloodthirsty  and  revengeful.  The 
most  false  and  unjust  account  would  be  given  of  the  affair, 
making  you  wholly  to  blame  and  the  white  man  a  martyr. 
We  have  no  means  to  deny  the  slander  before  the  people 
of  the  Great  Father,  and  so  even  the  gentle  and  true- 
hearted  of  the  whites  come  to  believe  us  inhuman. 
Then  the  Great  Father  sends  an  army,  and  although  your 
father  and  mother  and  your  beautiful  bride  might  be 
utterly  innocent  of  any  desire  to  do  harm,  they  would  all 
be  put  to  death  for  your  fault." 

"  Horrible !"  I  exclaimed.     "  Is  this  justice  ?" 

"  It  is  justice  as  the  white  man  knows  and  practices  it 
toward  our  helpless  race." 

At  this  stage  in  the  conversation  my  father  started  up 
again,  not  excitedly  as  before,  but  with  the  greatest  dig 
nity.  The  flickering  light  brought  out  his  majestic  form 
against  the  darkness  around,  and  speaking  as  the  apolo- 


84  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

gist  of  his  people,  and  in  a  tone  of  blended  sadness  and  en 
treaty,  said  : 

"This  strange  dealing  of  the  white  man  is  the  cause  of 
every  Indian  war.  In  all  our  tribes  there  are  reckless  men, 
or  there  are  headstrong  young  men,  who,  stung  to  mad 
ness  by  the  exactions  of  the  whites,  forget  the  teachings  of 
their  fathers  and  commit  some  deed  of  violence  out  of  a 
natural  love  of  revenge.  Then  the  entire  tribe,  being  held 
responsible  by  the  Great  Father,  is  forced  to  take  part  in 
the  strife  in  mere  self-defense.  If  only  the  guilty  could 
be  punished,  as  is  the  case  with  our  brethren  in  Canada, 
there  would  never  be  any  difficulty  in  this  country,  as  there 
has  not  been  in  that,  between  the  red  men  and  the  white. 
But  as  it  is,  my  son,  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe  has  taught 
thee  rightly.  Our  only  safety  is  in  drilling  every  member 
of  our  tribe  to  uncomplaining  submission,  no  matter  what 
may  be  the  provocation,  and  thou  as  the  future  chief  of 
this  people  must  learn  this  lesson  well.  But  who  is  this  ?" 

The  question  was  occasioned  by  the  approach  of  a 
young  man,  a  member  of  our  tribe,  who  had  been  sent  two 
days  before  to  trade  at  a  neighboring  outpost  of  the  whites. 
He  came  now  to  make  his  report  to  the  chief.  But  what 
was  our  astonishment  to  see  his  garments  covered  with 
blood  !  A  fearful  gash  laid  open  his  cheek  to  the  bone, 
one  arm  was  terribly  cut,  and  his  right  side  was  literally 
torn  to  pieces. 

"Strong  Arm!"  my  father  cried  in  amazement,  "can 
this  be  thou  ?  What  fearful  calamity  has  befallen  thee? 
Have  you  too  invaded  the  den  of  the  she-wolf?" 

"  Nay  !  my  father,"  the  wounded  man  replied,  "  I  have 
been  attacked  by  a  white  boy  !" 

"  A  white  boy  !"  I  exclaimed.  "Was  he  of  thy  size  and 
strength  ?  Where  was  Strong  Arm's  boasted  prowess  ?" 

"  I  suffered  myself  to  be  thus  stabbed,"  he  said.     "  I  re- 


BITTER   COUNSEL.  85 

membered  the  teachings  of  my  fathers.  I  returned  no 
blow,  I  answered  not  a  word."  * 

"  Oh !  woe  is  to  our  race !"  I  cried.  "  Better  that  all 
our  people  die  nobly  defending  their  rights  than  that  one 
be  thus  injured." 

"  Strong  Arm  !"  my  father  said,  without  noticing  my 
words,  "thou  hast  vindicated  thy  name  and  shown  that 
thou  hast  a  strong  heart  as  well.  Go  to  thy  home,  and  I 
will  send  salves  for  thy  wounds.  Always  thus  remember 
the  safety  of  thy  people  and  thou  shalt  always  deserve 
their  praise." 

After  he  had  departed,  my  father  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"  My  son,  that  we  are  utterly  within  the  power  of  the 
white  man  is  a  bitter  lesson  to  learn.  It  cost  me  many 
tears.  But  we  must  burn  it  into  the  heart  of  every  Indian 
youth,  and  thou  as  my  successor  must  take  this  task  up  at 
my  death.  The  safety  of  thy  people  depends  on  teaching 
this  lesson  well !" 

*  An  actual  occurrence  among  the  Omaha  Indians  in  Nebraska,  du 
ring  the  summer  of  1880. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MA-SHAN!    HOME! 

LONG  and  sadly  I  pondered  these  weighty  suggestions 
of  my  father.  I  began  to  see  that  the  Indians,  although 
loving  freedom  so  dearly  and  taught  it  by  every  breath  of 
prairie  air  they  breathe,  and  inspired  by  it  in  every  flower 
they  see,  are  really  the  slaves  of  the  white  race.  True,  no 
chains  are  riveted  about  our  wrists  and  ankles,  no  yokes 
are  placed  upon  our  shoulders,  no  spiked  collars  gall  our 
necks,  and  no  lashes  are  laid  upon  our  backs ;  but  bet 
ter  have  these  merely  physical  sufferings  than  the  ago 
nies  which  I  now  became  conscious  we  had  to  bear. 
When  a  man  is  so  helplessly  in  the  grasp  of  another  that 
he  cannot  resent  the  deliberate  taking  of  his  property — is 
not  that  slavery  ?  When  the  very  love  we  have  for  wife 
and  child  and  brother  is  made  the  excuse  for  murders 
which,  because  of  this  very  love,  we  dare  not  avenge  and 
cannot  resent  without  involving  these  dear  and  innocent 
persons  in  a  common  ruin — is  not  that  slavery?  When 
those  who  have  authority  in  the  white  man's  government 
can  withhold  the  money  that  is  rightfully  ours,  can  sell  to 
others  the  provisions  designed  for  us,  can  cause  the  wail 
of  women  and  little  ones  to  ascend  from  a  thousand  camp- 
fires  on  the  prairies,  and  when  there  is  no  recourse  left  us 
but  silent  submission — is  not  that  slavery  ?  When  a  man 
must  know  that  his  dear  wife  is  shamefully  outraged  by  a 
white  man,  that  there  is  no  law  by  which  the  transgressor 
can  be  punished,  that  the  Indian  if  he  oversteps  the  limits 
of  a  martyr's  self-control  and  shoots  the  white  man  down 


MA- SHAN!    HOME!  87 

is  bringing  death  upon  hundreds  of  innocent  ones  in  his 
race — is  not  that  slaver}'  ?  And  does  not  the  fact  that  the 
holiest  emotions  of  our  nature  are  made  the  shackles  by 
which  we  are  bound  give  a  peculiar  agony  to  our  slavery 
that  no  mere  physical  smarts  or  salty  tears  can  express  ? 

All  these  things  I  thought  of  constantly  and  seriously. 
For  a  time  it  seemed  that  a  great  darkness  had  come  upon 
my  life.  Eagerly  I  sought  an  opportunity  when  the  wise 
Standing  Elk  might  instruct  me  further  in  these  terrible 
truths,  hoping  that  he  might  be  able  to  show  me  a  wav 
out  of  the  night. 

One  afternoon  I  was  resting  on  a  couch  of  wolves' skins 
in  a  cool  arbor  of  aspens  built  for  me  under  a  great  tree. 
My  mother  and  my  little  bride  were  working  upon  a  pair 
of  moccasins,  shaping  and  beading  them  for  my  feet. 
They  worked  secretly,  hoping  to  hide  the  moccasins  from 
me,  since  they  were  intended  as  my  wedding-present.  But 
at  moments  when  they  were  intent  upon  their  toil  I 
caught  sly  glimpses  of  what  they  were  doing,  and  although 
1  said  nothing  it  seemed  to  me  a  beautiful  and  a  touching 
thing  for  these  two  persons,  who  loved  me  most  and  whom 
I  most  loved,  to  join  in  shoeing  me  for  many  a  trip  across 
the  divides  in  search  of  game,  and  for  long  marches  against 
the  Sioux.  Ah,  it  is  well  they  little  knew  upon  what  jour 
ney  I  should  wear  them  !  I  thought  of  that  simple  legend 
of  my  people  which  relates  that  the  she-bears  rub  their 
cheeks  so  steadily  and  lovingly  along  the  claw-points  of 
their  mates  that  they  sharpen  them  for  the  bloody  encoun 
ter  with  the  mountain  lion  among  the  rocks,  or  with  the 
elk-buck  along  the  water-courses.  So  love  prepared  me 
for  providing  for  my  loves. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged  in  toil,  and  I  in  thought, 
our  company  was  increased  by  the  coming  of  the  wise 
Standing  Elk.  I  never  until  that  moment  noticed  how 


88  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

old  and  sorrow-worn  he  seemed.  His  long  hair  was  turn 
ing  white  in  many  places,  and  though  his  form  was  per 
fectly  elastic  and  erect,  and  his  eyes  were  bright,  there  was 
a  deep  look  of  sadness  upon  his  face  which  showed  plainly 
that  his  soul  was  "bent  and  its  lights  were  dim.  He  seated 
himself  with  the  air  of  one  who  lives  in  other  days,  and 
the  rapid  and  steady  winking  of  his  eyelids  showed  that 
he  was  buried  in  thought. 

"  My  father,"  I  said  to  him,  "  the  eaglet  was  never  half 
so  clamorously  glad  to  see  the  return  of  its  sire  with  a  fish 
in  his  claws  as  I  am  to  see  thee  to-day.  My  soul  hungers. 
Tell  us  more  of  this  sad  and  terrible  law  by  which  the 
white  man,  grinding  us  down  in  slavery,  compels  us  to 
submission  by  threatening  the  lives  of  our  wives  and 
children.  Is  there  no  counter-law  of  theirs  to  give  us 
escape  ?  Is  there  no  ray  of  light  in  this  horrible  mid 
night  ?" 

"Nay,  my  father!"  Prairie  Flower  exclaimed.  "Wolf 
Killer  has  already  distressed  his  mind  too  much  with 
these  terrible  thoughts.  His  very  wounds  will  soon  begin 
to  bleed  with  them.  Tell  us  rather  some  sweet  story  of 
thy  youth,  some  pleasing  tale  of  thy  love  for  my  mother 
when  she  was  fair.  Or  if  thy  soul  is  too  sad  for  that,  tell 
us,  as  thou  hast  promised  to  do,  how  my  poor  mother  met 
her  death." 

The  bright  bass  springs  from  the  waters  of  the  lake, 
gleams  in  the  warm  sunshine  for  an  instant,  every  scale 
and  fin  radiant  with  rounded  rainbows,  and  then  falls  back 
into  the  darkness  again.  Thus  the  wise  man  emerged  for 
a  moment  from  his  thoughts  when  his  daughter  spoke, 
the  light  of  a  smile  played  upon  his  shriveled  face,  but 
then  he  returned  with  a  sigh  to  his  meditation. 

"  Thy  voice,  my  Flower !"  he  said,  "  would  recall  me 
from  the  very  gloom  of  death  and  thrill  me  with  life's 


MA-SHAN!    HOME!  89 

delight.  But  I  am  sad  to-day.  I  feel  that  my  trail  is 
almost  completed.  Before  I  die  I  must  prepare  you  both 
for  living.  And,  strangely,  I  can  answer  both  your  requests 
with  one  story.  Listen,  my  daughter,  while  I  tell  thee 
how  thy  mother  was  slain.  Listen,  my  son,  for  in  these 
same  words  thou  shalt  find  one  sad  illustration  of  the 
dreadful  hold  the  whites  have  upon  us,  and  how  they  pun 
ish  the  innocent  for  the  crimes  of  the  guilty." 

Seating  himself  more  comfortably  upon  a  pile  of  furs, 
he  gave  himself  a  moment's  thought  as  a  preparation  for 
the  story.  The  sun,  just  setting,  scattered  with  most 
prodigal  hands  its  wealth  of  rays  upon  the  spears  of 
wild  grass  and  the  fluttering  leaves  of  the  shrubs.  The 
sky  was  lit  up  with  scarlet  and  amber  and  gold,  and  such 
clouds  as  there  were  sought  to  hide  themselves  in  light 
for  very  shame  to  mar  such  loveliness.  The  prairies 
which  stretched  away  to  the  south  and  the  hills  which 
broke  away  to  the  north  answered  each  other  in  all  the 
varied  voices  of  the  twilight  music;  while,  nearer,  the 
whistle  of  the  quail  was  heard  calling  to  his  mate.  Not 
one  sound  was  heard  suggestive  of  human  strife  and  pas 
sion  ;  but  oh,  what  a  story  we  were  to  hear  of  how  all 
that  is  worst  and  most  devilish  in  man  seems  directed 
against  our  helpless  race  ! 

'  1  was  not  born  a  member  of  this  portion  of  our  tribe 
which  Eagle  Wing  commands,"  the  wise  man  began. 
"  Our  band  was  part  of  one  great  family  with  yours,  spoke 
the  same  language,  and  practiced  the  same  customs. 
There  were  about  five  hundred  of  us,  all  told,  and  we 
lived  far  to  the  west  of  this  village.  The  rugged  moun 
tains  rose  above  our  wigwams  in  great  uneven  peaks, 
their  sides  were  storm-worn  and  their  summits  crowned 
with  snow.  As  you  love  the  bending  trees,  we  loved  the 
unyielding  rocks.  We  were  a  hardier,  though  certainly 


90  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

not  a  nobler,  people  than  you.  Our  sport  was  to  track 
the  great  bear  over  slippery  paths  and  up  lofty  mountains, 
or  to  fish  in  the  raging  torrents  which  thunder  through 
the  canons  and  throw  out  a  thousand  little  white  spray- 
arms  to  push  away  the  stone  which  obstructs  their  course. 
Our  joy  was  to  watch  the  creeping  of  heavy  sun-shadows 
down  the  mountain-sides  as  the  sun  rose  or  set,  and  to  see 
the  radiance  that  the  highest  peaks  caught  first  at  morn 
ing  and  held  longest  at  evening.  And  oh,  what  lessons 
we  thus  learned  of  holy  souls  who  catch  and  forever  retain 
the  brightness  of  Wakanda's  smile,  shining  out  of  eternity  ! 
Our  music  was  the  scratching  of  the  bears'  claws  upon  the 
pine  bark,  the  roar  of  mountain  streams,  the  thundering 
fall  of  stones,  and  the  moan  of  winds  over  trackless  snow. 

"  I  must  pause  in  my  story  to  call  up,  from  the  dark 
shadows  of  memory,  a  picture  of  that  sweetest  of  all 
places,  Mashan — home.  Images  of  it  come  brightly  back 
to  all  men  alike  in  the  most  solemn,  happy,  and  saddened 
moments.  Listen,  while  the  image  flashes  before  my  old 
eyes  to-night  and  becomes  radiant  in  my  tears. 

"  Our  village  stood  in  a  little  valley  which  had  been 
beautifully  hollowed  out  in  the  heart  of  a  great  rocky 
range.  There  were  but  two  entrances  to  our  retreat,  one 
at  each  extremity  of  the  valley.  These  gateways  were 
formed  in  the  rocks  by  the  cutting  of  a  mountain  stream 
which  flowed  through  the  length  of  the  valley.  The  sides 
of  these  granite  gateways  were  as  precipitous  as  even 
those  stupendous  rocks  could  be,  so  that  we  were  com 
pelled  to  build,  above  the  level  of  the  stream,  trails  just 
wide  enough  for  two  ponies  to  walk  abreast.  Over  what 
narrow  footways  will  the  most  dreadful  disasters  come ! 

"The  mountains  ranged  themselves  in  uneven  ranks 
parallel  to  the  stream,  and  seemed  to  our  simple  imagina 
tion  to  have  assumed  that  position  that  they  might  the 


MA-SH^N!   HOME!  91 

more  easily  guard  us  from  the  intrusion  of  man.  And 
that -they  widened  out  above,  so  as  to  show  a  great  belt  of 
blue  sky,  we  interpreted  as  meaning  that  they  wished  to 
afford  free  access  to  the  benefactions  of  Wakanda.  With 
the  blending  of  these  ideas  in  mind,  we  called  the  moun 
tains  after  the  most  renowned  warriors  that  had  ever  lived 
in  our  race.  There  was  one  great  peak  to  the  extreme 
west,  by  whose  foot  the  stream  flowed  in,  and  whose  rough 
head,  reaching  up  far  beyond  the  timber-growth,  was 
streaked  and  seamed  with  flowing  snow.  This  mountain 
we  called  the  '  Old  Chief.'  Next  to  him  were  smaller 
mountains,  clothed  to  their  tops  with  a  green  growth  of 
aspens,  and  these  we  adorned  with  the  names  of  the  noble 
men  who,  by  their  gentleness  and  strength  of  nature,  had 
been  as  dear  to  our  hearts  as  they  were  terrible  to  our 
enemies.  Then,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  stream,  came 
a  great  mountain,  bald  but  not  rocky,  which  seemed  to 
extend  two  wide  arms  of  mercy  to  hold  our  village  in,  and 
this  was  named  'Gentle  Face,'  after  the  father  of  my 
father,  who  was  chief  of  the  wise  men.  Then  came  other 
peaks  in  one  sublime  succession  of  snowy  might,  extend 
ing  around  our  village  to  the  'Old  Chief  again.  Some 
were  crowned  with  rocky  heads,  some  shook  the  cloud- 
mists  from  beards  of  pine,  and  some  laughed  forever  in 
the  sunshine.  These  were  named  for  other  lesser  persons 
who  in  the  past  had  given  their  lives  to  protect  our  race. 
Within  this  circle  of  strength  there  were  smaller,  gentler 
hills,  covered  with  picturesque  patches  of  aspens  or 
dressed  in  flowing  garments  of  rustling  spruce  ;  and  these, 
leaning  against  the  breasts  of  the  higher  mountains,  we 
called  the  wives  and  children  of  the  warriors  who  lifted 
their  pleased  faces  above. 

"  My  father  was  the  wise  man  of  that  band  as  I  am  of 
this,  and  his  sole  aim  was,  as  mine  has  been,  to  teach  his 


92  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

children  how  to  observe  their  own  natures  and  thus  be  led 
to  happiness.  My  wife,  thy  mother,  was  a  noble  treasure, 
faithful  and  devoted  to  a  degree  that  only  genuine  love 
can  produce.  I  had  three  noble  sons  and  two  daughters 
beside  thyself,  my  Prairie  Flower.  Thy  years  then  num 
bered  but  two,  and  we  held  thce  close  to  our  breasts  as  the 
child  of  our  old  age. 

"  The  white  men  had  a  settlement  about  twenty  miles 
from  our  village,  and  we  had  frequent  intercourse  with 
them.  Until  the  dreadful  day  of  which  I  now  must  speak, 
not  the  slightest  difficulty  had  ever  arisen  between  the 
settlers  and  our  people.  There  was,  however,  a  young 
man  among  us  of  most  passionate  disposition,  and  who 
frequently  declared  that  the  white  man  who  failed  to 
regard  his  wishes  should  die.  Long  and  frequently  my 
father  urged  him  to  be  considerate  and  forgiving;  but 
Long  Knife,  such  was  his  name,  would  not  be  wise.  There 
were  some  among  our  people,  as  there  are  reckless  men 
in  every  tribe,  who  encouraged  Long  Knife  in  his  boastful 
threats,  and  promised  him  their  assistance  in  case  he 
found  himself  in  difficulty.  The  number  of  these  foolish 
and  wicked  men  was,  however,  very  small  in  proportion 
to  the  vast  majority  of  us  who  wished  to  preserve  all  good 
faith  with  the  whites. 

"  One  day  Long  Knife  was  drinking  heavily  with  a  dissi 
pated  white  man  in  their  settlement.  The  Indian  proposed 
that  they  should  together  take  a  day's  sport  upon  the 
mountains ;  but  the  white  man  would  not  consent  to  the 
project.  He  pleaded  the  press  of  business  duties;  he  said 
he  was  no  great  hunter ;  in  short,  he  would  not  go.  A 
long  and  heated  dispute  followed — a  drunken  brawl — in 
the  height  of  which  Long  Knife  sprang  upon  the  white 
man,  bore  him  to  the  earth,  and  stabbed  him  to  the 
heart.  The  murderer,  instantly  realizing  the  terrible  con- 


.IfA-SlfA.V!    HOME!  93 

sequences  upon  himself  and  upon  his  tribe  of  what  he 
had  done,  took  refuge  among  the  high  rocks  of  moun 
tains  above  our  village. 

"  An  account  of  the  transaction,  distorted  into  the  most 
frightful  falsehoods,  was  published  in  all  the  white  man's 
papers.  Wicked  men,  who  lived  near  us  and  thirsted  for 
our  land,  represented  our  whole  band  as  utterly  evil,  and 
the  wildest  reports  were  spread  abroad  that  we  had  gone 
to  war.  It  was  said  that  we  had  fallen  on  many  settlers, 
had  burned  their  houses,  slaughtered  their  wives  and 
children,  and  stolen  their  property.  We  had  no  means  to 
deny  these  reports,  and  many  of  the  white  people  may 
believe  them  true  to  this  day. 

"  The  day  after  the  murder  of  the  white  man,  an  officer 
with  a  few  soldiers  rode  into  our  village,  and  from  a  paper 
in  his  hand  he  read  these  words:  'The  Great  Father  is 
much  displeased  because  a  member  of  this  tribe  has  done 
so  cruel  a  deed.  He  requires  you  to  find  Long  Knife 
before  fifteen  suns  have  set.  If  you  do  not,  war  shall  be 
made  upon  this  village.'  The  officer  and  soldiers  then 
rode  haughtily  away. 

"  Our  village  was  instantly  the  scene  of  the  wildest  con 
fusion,  such  as  you  see  among  the  white  ants  when  a  pony 
stamps  his  foot  into  the  center  of  their  mound-home. 
The  women  moaned  and  wrung  their  hands,  and  the  chil 
dren  wept,  not  knowing  why,  save  that  they  saw  their 
mothers  distressed. 

"A  sorrowful  procession  was  formed  which  wound 
round  and  round  the  beloved  homes,  and  under  the  famil 
iar  trees,  and  past  the  sacred  places  where  our  fathers 
slept,  and  the  people  smote  their  breasts  and  cried  : 

'•   Ma-shan !  Ma-shan  !  *  We  love  our  homes ;  they  are 

*  "  Home  !  home  !" 


94  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

to  be  taken  away  from  us.  We  love  our  lives  ;  we  are 
to  lose  them.  Oh,  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  ! ' 

"  A  council  of  all  the  male  members  of  the  party  was  im 
mediately  held,  a  heap  of  pine-knots  was  started  into  a 
flame,  and  oh,  I  trust  Wakanda  has  forgiven  us  for  the  many 
bitter  words  we  spoke  around  that  fire.  The  chief  was 
the  first,  of  course,  to  express  his  opinion. 

"'  My  children,'  he  said,  'this  is  a  bitter  hour.  Never 
has  my  heart  been  wrung  with  such  unspeakable  agony. 
There  could  be  nothing  more  unjust — nothing  that  more 
directly  smites  Wakanda  in  the  face — than  this  law  of  the 
whites  by  which  we  are  made  chargeable  for  the  crime  of 
Long  Knife.  I  did  not  command  it;  you  did  not  know 
of  it;  we  all  lament  it.  But  if  the  punishment  rested 
with  the  destruction  of  the  men  of  our  band,  I  could  die 
content,  Behold,  the  white  men  demand  the  lives  of  our 
wives  and  little  ones — those  who  never  handled  a  bow, 
and  those  who  know  not  their  right  hand  from  the  left ! 
This  is  hard.  This  makes  even  a  chief  weep!  Were  we 
not  helpless  in  their  grasp,  we  might  laugh  such  unjust 
pretensions  to  scorn.  But  they  have  the  right  to  make 
what  laws  they  please  to  bind  us — the  right  that  the  tyrant 
may  ever  exercise  over  the  slave.  We  must  submit,  my 
children,  we  must  submit.  Let  it  only  be  bravely  and 
proudly  done.' 

"  When  he  had  ceased  speaking,  one  of  the  young  men 
started  up  and  said  angrily  : 

"'  Must  the  elk-buck  kneel  to  the  hounds  because  his 
mate  and  their  young  will  die  too?  My  young  wife,  but 
one  month  pressed  to  my  breast,  would  gladly  perish  rather 
than  have  her  husband  a  craven  ! ' 

"  '  We  have  no  right  to  bring  ruin  on  others,  even  though 
they  are  our  own  wives  and  children,'  the  chief  gently  said. 


MA- SHAN!   HOME!  95 

"  '  But  if  they  consent — nay,  clamor  to  die  rather  than 
see  us  kneel  to  the  white  man  ?  ' 

"  '  We  should  not  place  them  where  they  are  forced  to 
consent,'  the  chief  replied. 

"  For  a  long  space  there  was  the  silence  of  despair 
around  that  camp- tire.  At  last  another  young  man  arose 
and  said : 

" '  Let  us  take  our  wives  and  little  ones  and  flee  into  the 
canons  of  the  mountains,  and  there  defy  pursuit.' 

" '  Such  an  attempt  would  simply  result  in  instant  death  ; 
for  the  white  men,  as  I  am  informed  by  a  scout,  have 
placed  sentinels  in  every  direction/  the  chief  replied. 

"  •  Then  we  can  but  die ! '  one  said.  '  We  can  but  die ! ' 
his  neighbor  said.  And  this  awful  sentence  passed  around 
the  little  group,  each  man  repeating  it  as  his  turn  came, 
until  it  came  my  father's  turn.  All  eyes  were  then  bent 
upon  him ;  for  he,  being  the  wise  man  of  the  tribe,  was 
accounted  able  to  free  us  from  even  worse  difficulties  than 
that  in  which  we  were  then  involved.  My  father  rose, 
and  shaking  loose  his  long  flowing  locks  touched  with 
gray,  as  mine  now  are,  fixed  his  piercing  eyes  upon  us, 
and  said : 

"  '  We  but  lose  time  by  repeating  this  wail.  Fifteen  days 
are  allotted  to  us  to  find  Long  Knife.  Is  it  the  part  of 
brave  men  to  talk  loudly  and  do  nothing  when  the  lives 
of  their  wives  and  children  are  in  danger  ?  Organize  your 
scouting-bands,  explore  the  rocks,  come  upon  his  trail, 
and  bring  the  murderer  back.  He  that  finds  Long  Knife 
shall  be  the  savior  of  his  people  ! ' 

"  Instantly  we  sprang  up,  ashamed  of  our  inaction.  The 
sun  had  been  hidden  for  three  hours  behind  the  crest  of 
the  mountain,  and  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  others 
went  in  parties  of  two  and  thee,  but  I  preferred  to  go 


9<>  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

alone.  So,  kissing  my  wife  and  holding  my  children  for  a 
moment  to  my  heart  in  what  I,  too  truly,  feared  would 
be  my  last  embrace,  I  started  up  the  mountain-side.  And 
as  I  walked  the  night  came  on,  but  at  every  footstep  un 
der  the  stars  I  thought  of  my  loved  ones,  and  whispered 
to  myself  the  words  of  my  father :  '  He  that  finds  Long 
Knife  shall  be  the  savior  of  his  people  ! ' " 


CHAPTER   X. 

A     VAIN     SACRIFICE. 

WHEN  he  had  reached  this  point  in  his  story  the  wise 
man  paused  for  a  moment,  as  if  to  arrange  his  thoughts 
before  continuing.  I  was  conscious  that  the  eyes  of 
Prairie  Flower  were  turned  up  to  me,  and  looking  down 
I  saw  that  they  were  full  of  tears,  and  her  lips  were  trem 
bling,  and  such  a  look  of  unutterable  sadness  was  upon  her 
face  as  I  had  never  before  seen  her  bright  features  wear. 
I  drew  her  close  to  me,  so  that  she  should  not  fear. 

By  this  time  the  night  had  come  down,  and  great  clouds 
were  wheeling  toward  us  from  the  south-west,  massing 
themselves  into  gigantic  shapes,  lit  up  by  sharp  lightnings 
which  shot  within  them.  The  noise  of  the  distant  thunder 
sounded  like  the  stampede  of  great  herds  of  buffalo  over 
pebbled  plains.  The  main  storm  passed  far  to  the  west  of 
us,  but  we  got  the  flanking  showers.  The  freshened  breeze 
swept  by  us,  hasting  into  the  storm-cloud,  and  causing 
the  aspen  arbor  in  which  we  sat  to  tremble  and  rock  as  if 
shaken  by  the  hand  of  a  giant.  The  gloom  of  the  tem 
pest,  increasing  the  natural  darkness  of  night,  fell  upon  us 
and  brought  us  into  trembling  sympathy  with  the  sad  ter 
rors  of  the  wise  man's  story. 

"  I  must  now,  my  children,"  he  said,  resuming  his  nar 
rative,  "  divide  what  I  have  to  tell  you  into  two  parts,  in 
order  to  give  you  the  story  complete.  I  shall  first  tell 
you  what  befell  the  people  of  our  tribe  whom  we  left  in 
our  village,  and  afterward  relate  the  adventures  I  person 
ally  met  with  upon  the  mountains. 


9 3  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"You  can  easily  imagine  the  anxiety  with  which  those 
who  remained  in  the  village  awaited  the  results  of  our 
search.  As  day  followed  day  and  no  word  was  brought 
in  that  the  criminal  had  been  secured,  the  fear  and  appre 
hension  of  the  people  increased  until  it  was  the  frenzy  of 
madness.  One  ceaseless  wail  resounded  in  our  beautiful 
village.  Many  of  the  women  started  out  in  hope  of  find 
ing  Long  Knife  themselves,  and  thus  to  save  their  babes 
from  the  bayonet  of  the  soldier.  Every  child  who  was 
old  enough  to  find  or  follow  a  trail  took  part  in  the 
search,  until  the  soldiers  who  were  stationed  as  sentinels 
around  our  village  raised  the  alarm  that  we  were  endeav 
oring  to  escape  in  small  parties  to  the  mountains,  under 
pretense  of  looking  for  Long  Knife.  Then  the  women 
and  children  were  called  in,  and,  having  nothing  else  to 
occupy  their  activities,  they  prepared  arrows  for  the  hope 
less  conflict  in  which  they  now  -foresaw  we  should  be 
called  upon  to  engage.  By  day  they  toiled,  and  at  night 
they  formed  a  sad  procession  and  passed  round  and  round 
the  beautiful  spot  where  we  had  lived  so  long,  exclaim 
ing: 

" '  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !  Another  day  has  passed,  another 
sun  has  set.  Oh,  our  homes  will  soon  be  vacant !  Ma-shan  ! 
Ma-shan  ! ' 

"  At  last  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  day  came.  Every 
scouting  party,  as  it  came  in,  was  anxiously  questioned 
as  to  its  success,  and  from  each  the  dreadful  news  was 
learned  that  no  trace  of  the  criminal  had  been  found. 
Then  the  wails  of  the  women  and  the  crying  of  the  chil 
dren  increased  a  hundred-fold,  for  it  seemed  certain  then 
that  all  must  die.  I  had  not  yet  come  in.  I  did  not  reach 
the  village  for  three  days.  But,  my  children,  do  not  think 
me  a  coward,  do  not  imagine  that  I  left  my  wife  and  chil 
dren  to  die,  if  need  be,  alone,  until  I  relate  to  you  what 


A    VAIN  SACRIFICE.  99 

befell  me  in  the  mountains.  What  took  place  at  the  vil 
lage  was  told  me  many  months  afterwards  by  one  who 
was  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene. 

"A  council  was  immediately  held  around  one  of  the 
blazing  fires.  The  chief  called  upon  each  party  to  report 
what  efforts  they  had  made,  and  with  what  success,  if  any, 
they  had  met.  One  after  another  arose  and  told  how  they 
had  traversed  the  rocks,  and  penetrated  the  dark,  deep 
places,  and  explored  the  canons,  and  tramped  down  the 
wild  grass  in  every  high  spot  where  a  man  could  hide. 
They  told  of  the  agony  in  their  spirits,  and  how  they  had 
made  rocks  which  never  before  had  heard  the  human 
voice  resound  and  echo  wildly  with  their  wails.  They 
told  of  lying  down  to  rest  when  their  steps  wavered  upon 
the  paths  from  utter  fatigue,  and  how  they  started  up 
almost  instantly  again  and  pursued  the  search,  chiding 
themselves  that  they  had  lost  a  moment  of  the  precious 
time.  They  told  of  strange  hopes  that  this  place  or  that 
might  harbor  the  criminal ;  of  promises  the  night-winds 
seemed  to  whisper  to  their  frantic  hearts;  of  gathering 
breathlessly  around  some  crushed  flower,  fancying  it  to 
reveal  the  sought  trail,  only  to  find  that  it  had  been  trodden 
down  by  the  brown  bear.  Whenever  they  saw  a  vulture 
or  eagle  hovering  over  a  spot,  however  high  and  inacces 
sible,  they  hastened  to  it,  hoping  to  find  at  least  the 
carrion  of  the  criminal ;  or  when  the  stream  at  the  depth 
of  the  cafion  murmured  as  if  clogged  by  some  dead 
weight,  they  anxiously  descended  to  its  bank,  to  see  if  the 
obstruction  were  his  body.  And  when  the  last  sun  had 
arisen  they  had  turned  their  despairing  steps  homeward, 
ashamed  to  show  themselves  among  their  brethren,  but 
still  vaguely  hoping  that  some  other  party  had  been  more 
fortunate  than  they.  Only  one  man  could  say  that  he  had 
seen  any  trail  that  might  possibly  have  been  that  of  Long 


loo  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

Knife.  This  he  had  followed  wild  with  delight  and  hope, 
until  it  suddenly  ceased  upon  a  high  and  barren  rock,  and, 
although  he  examined  every  sand-grain  that  rested  upon 
its  surface,  that  rock  would  hold  forever  the  secret  of 
where  the  murderer  had  gone,  and  would  commemorate 
the  slaughter  of  a  race. 

"  When  the  last  man  had  spoken,  the  chief  slowly  arose 
and  said : 

" '  My  children,  the  Dta-wa-e*  of  our  people  must  be  sung. 
The  wave  of  ruin  which  has  rolled  over  a  land  once  ours 
and  swept  so  many  of  a  simple-hearted  race  away  has  at 
last  reached  our  beautiful  homes.  The  wild  dove  had 
hoped  to  save  one  little  nestling  out  of  so  large  and  noble 
a  brood,  but  this,  too,  must  be  sacrificed.  And  by  whom 
is  this  last  sad  murder  to  be  done?  By  a  nation  ignorant 
of  Wakanda's  ways,  or  careless  of  the  pain  of  a  human 
heart,  or  professing  simply  to  be  unlearned  and  savage? 
Nay !  It  is  done  by  a  nation  boastful  of  its  justice,  its 
regard  for  the  feelings  of  all,  its  desire  to  civilize  our 
people — a  nation  shone  upon  by  a  free  sun,  fanned  to  sleep 
by  free  winds,  and  roared  at  by  free  waves  and  rivers — a 
nation  favored  and  honored  and  blessed  by  the  very 
liberty  it  denies  to  us.  Long  Knife  Bought  to  have  been 
punished  ;  we  would  gladly  have  seen  him  repay  Wakanda 
with  his  life  for  the  life  he  has  taken.  But  why  should 
our  wives  and  little  ones  suffer  in  his  place?  But  it  must 
be.  I  would  not  unnerve  you,  my  children,  for  the  trial. 
We  must  die;  see  that  ye  die  bravely.  I  have  spoken.' 

"  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  my  father  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  chief's  address,  for  to  him  they  looked  for  advice 
when  all  other  wisdom  failed.  He  arose,  shook  out  his 
flowing  hair,  and,  looking  slowly  around  on  all  the  anxious 
faces,  simply  said : 


A    I'ALV  SACA'n-  TO: 


"  '  Wait,  my  children,  until  Standing  Elk  returns.' 

44  He  then  resumed  his  seat. 

'•'Truly!'  the  chief  exclaimed,  'the  brave  young 
Standing  Elk  has  not  yet  returned.  He  is  fleet  of  foot 
and  quick  of  eye  and  strong  of  arm ;  he  may  be  the 
saviour  of  his  people  by  bringing  in  the  criminal.' 

44  •  You  shall  not  see  him  for  many  suns,'  sneered  a  young 
man  who  hated  to  hear  me  praised. 

"  '  What ! '  my  father  exclaimed,  springing  up, '  dare  you 
say  that  Standing  Elk  will  desert  us  in  our  sore  need? 
Think  you  he  has  your  heart,  to  stay  away  until  the  threat 
ened  conflict  has  passed?  I  will  answer  with  my  life 
that  he  returns  before  our  last  sun  rises  over  to-morrow's 
peaks.  Or  if  he  comes  hot,  some  disaster  holds  him.' 

"  *  Peace !  my  children,'  the  chief  said.  '  We  will  watch 
here  beside  the  embers  of  our  last  council-fire  until  the 
morning  dawns.  If  Standing  Elk  does  not  then  return 
with  Long  Knife,  we  will  prepare  to  die.' 

"  All  that  night,  while  the  pitying  stars  looked  divinely 
down,  they  sat  around  that  dying  fire,  speaking  not  a  word, 
wrapped  in  the  sad  meditation  of  despair.  The  solemn, 
familiar  peaks  rose  above  them,  and  to  their  excited 
fancies  assumed  shapes  of  majesty  or  affright,  became 
giants  with  stern  faces  and  rugged  arms  and  cruel  clubs, 
or  changed  into  fair  fingers  pointing  them  up  to  Wakanda 
as  man's  last  hope.  Every  sound  of  the  night-wind  they 
listened  to  eagerly,  hoping  it  might  be  my  footstep. 
Whenever  the  loosened  stone  fell  down  the  mountain-side 
they  thought  •  He  is  dragging  the  criminal  after  him,  and 
will  soon  be  here.'  The  stars  wheeled  away,  and  strange 
ones  came  up  from  the  east  to  take  their  places,  just  as 
the  red  men  had  been  pushed  aside  by  the  march  of  the 
white  men  ;  the  planets  set  one  by  one  behind  the  pine- 
trees,  and  the  waning  moon  hid  its  scanty  light  from  their 


'02  ;  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

hopeless  gaze.  Still  Um-pan-nez-zhe  did  not  come.  On 
the  high  peaks  to  the  west  of  the  valley  a  faint  streak  of 
light  at  last  appeared.  It  was  instantly  erased  by  the  hand 
of  night,  and  a  deeper  darkness  than  any  that  had  rested 
upon  them  came  upon  peaks  and  valley  alike.  Soon, 
however,  the  light  returned  brighter  than  before,  and  the 
spread  of  coming  day  began  to  creep  down  the  mountain 
side  into  the  valley.  The  day-birds  opened  their  throats 
for  their  song,  the  crushing  of  the  sage-brush  was  heard 
as  the  bear  hastened  back  to  his  den,  and  the  pines  began 
to  wave  glad  welcomes  in  the  air  to  the  approaching  sun. 
It  was  their  last  allotted  sun,  but  yet  Standing  Elk  did 
not  come. 

"  Then  my  father  arose  and  said  : 

"  '  My  children,  some  accident  detains  the  brave  Standing 
Elk.  He  carries  the  scalp  of  Long  Knife  at  his  belt,  and 
if  a  day  or  two  could  be  granted  he  would  be  the  saviour 
of  his  people.  But  something  must  now  be  done.  My 
children,  my  locks  are  touched  with  gray  and  I  have  seen 
the  sun  rise  on  many  mornings.  Hundreds  of  my  people 
and  some  of  my  sons  I  have  seen  shot  by  the  white  men. 
Wakanda  has  given  them  The  Book,*  by  the  teachings  of 
which  they  have  been  made  strong.  He  has  not  given  us 
The  Book,  and  therefore  we  are  weak.  But  how  the  white 
men  can  use  in  robbing  and  murdering  our  helpless  people 
the  strength  they  have  derived  from  a  book  which  teaches, 
as  we  have  been  told,  charity  and  brotherly  love,  seems 
strange  to  me.  I  cannot  understand  this.  The  wild  beet 
lifts  up  into  the  air  tender  and  tempting  leaves,  but  its 
root  is  full  of  poison.  The  white  man  is  alike  treacherous. 
Every  coming  year  adds  to  the  snake  of  these  canons  a 
new  rattle,  and  places  fresh  venom  in  its  fangs.  Every 

*  The  Bible,  singularly  spoken  of  as  The  Book  by  all  the  Indian  races. 


A   VAIN  SACRIFICE.  103 

year  has  increased  the  white  man's  loud  professions  to  be 
our  friend,  and  at  the  same  time  made  him  more  thirst- 
ingly  our  enemy.  I  wish  to  die  by  the  hand  of  the  red 
men.  They  may  not  know  the  mysteries  of  the  ,vhite 
man's  religion,  but  are  not  rendered  alike  insensible  to 
the  pain  of  a  broken  heart  or  the  claims  that  the  weak 
may  ever  urge  against  the  strong.  My  children,  my 
advice  to  you  is :  It  is  better  for  one  to  perish  than  that 
all  should  die.  Shoot  me  and  lay  my  body  at  the  feet  of 
the  captain.  Perhaps  he  will  accept  me  as  the  criminal, 
and  have  mercy  upon  our  wives  and  little  ones.  I  die  a 
willing  sacrifice.  Let  my  pale  lips,  when  they  cannot 
speak,  persuade  you  that  Standing  Elk  remains  not 
willingly  away,  and  tell  him  when  he  comes  that  his 
father  died  gladly  to  vindicate  his  bravery.' 

" '  I  repent  already ! '  tearfully  exclaimed  the  young  man 
who  had  cast  suspicion  on  my  courage. 

"'Come,  then,'  my  father  said,  'let  us  go  out  into  the 
everglade  where  the  crack  of  the  rifle  shall  not  reach  the 
ears  of  my  children  and  grandchildren ;  there  I  will  die. 
Come,  I  lead  the  way ! ' 

"One  by  one  the  warriors  sadly  and  reluctantly  arose 
from  the  ashes  of  the  dead  camp-fire  and  followed  my 
father,  who,  stopping  a  moment  as  he  passed  through  our 
village,  kissed  the  little  ones  of  his  family,  took  thee,  my 
little  Prairie  Flower,  into  his  arms  for  a  moment  and 
blessed  thee,  and  then  walked  rapidly  away.  He  led  the 
silent  and  sorrowful  procession  to  a  retired  spot,  where 
the  mountain's  side  had  been  worn  away  by  a  succession 
of  great  torrents,  and  stationing  himself  on  a  mossy 
bowlder,  asked  them  to  shoot.  No  one,  however,  had 
thought  to  bring  a  rifle,  as  they  were  all  so  horrified 
by  the  terrible  idea  of  sacrifice.  A  messenger  was  dis 
patched  to  the  village  for  the  weapon.  In  the  moments 


104  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

of  delay  my  father  never  trembled  for  an  instant.  His 
tall  form  and  patient  face  and  streaming  white  hair  made 
a  sublime  picture  against  the  purple  and  gray  and  green 
of  the  rocks  behind  him.  The  mighty  mountains  threw 
down  deep  mourning  shadows  to  hide  the  scene  from  the 
pitying  eye  of  the  sun,  the  very  eagle  screamed  with 
horror  and  flew  away,  and  the  wild  birds  in  the  bushes 
were  dumb  with  awe  ! 

'"Chief/  my  father  said,  'the  rifle  is  at  thy  hand;  aim 
it  as  I  have  seen  thee  aim  at  the  brown  bear.  I  die  to 
vindicate  the  bravery  of  my  son  !  I  die  to  save  the  rem 
nant  of  my  people  !  Wakanda  forgive  the  white  man ! 
Wakanda  bless  my  simple-hearted  race !  Wakanda 
receive  me  to  his  home  !  I  have  spoken.' 

"  Thrice  the  chief  raised  the  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and 
thrice  lowered  it  again.  His  hand  trembled,  his  eyes  were 
full  of  tears. 

" '  O  wise  brother,'  he  said  to  my  father,  '  I  shoot  but 
for  thy  sake  and  for  that  of  my  poor  people.' 

"  He  aimed  the  rifle  once  again  and  pulled  the  trigger. 
My  father's  brave  heart  was  pierced.  His  gray  hair 
streamed  among  the  moss  upon  the  boulder. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

AN    EMPTY    SUCCESS. 

"  MEANWHILE,  my  children,  what  kept  the  brave  Um- 
pan-nez-zhe  upon  the  mountains  ?  Why  did  he  not  return 
as  the  saviour  of  his  people,  dragging  Long  Knife  behind 
him  ? 

"  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  where  I  should  be  most 
likely  to  find  the  criminal.  But  I  knew  that  in  the  hor 
ror  of  his  remorse  he  would  seek  the  very  wildest  peaks, 
and  frequent  the  deep  caverns  which  yawn  in  their  sides, 
where  the  scorched  pine,  blasted  by  the  lightning's  stroke, 
lifted  itself  into  the  night  akin  to  itself  for  blackness,  and 
suggested  to  his  mind  a  grim  image  of  his  own  ruined 
life.  I  knew  he  would  crouch  under  overhanging  bowl 
ders,  and  hide  behind  dark  young  pines;  and  would  spring 
up  at  the  slightest  noise,  glare  fiercely  for  a  moment,  and 
then  wildly,  around  ;  and  then  start  like  the  hounded  deer 
away  and  away  through  the  darkness.  I  knew  that  if  I 
could  find  his  trail  I  might  track  him  by  the  bloody  prints 
he  would  leave  of  feet  cruelly  torn  by  the  sharp  rocks,  by 
the  scraps  of  deer-skin  that  the  brambles  in  his  flight  would 
tear  from  his  garments,  by  the  very  bending  of  the  flowers 
and  wild  grasses  away  from  his  path  on  both  sides,  as  if 
they  had  shrunk  down  in  terror  and  hate  when  he  had 
passed  wildly  by.  Yet  I  knew  that  he  would  not  go  too 
far  away,  that  a  strange  fascination  would  attract  him,  at 
still  moments,  to  creep  near  the  scene  of  his  crime  ;  that 
in  the  darkness  or  in  fits  of  fevered  sleep  he  would  see 
the  shining  of  the  murdered  man's  face,  and  those  pallid 


106  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

lips  would  call  him  so  sternly  that  he  could  not  refuse, 
and  that  silent  finger  would  beckon  him  so  commandingly 
that  he  must  obey.  I  knew  that  thus  he  would  continu 
ally  hover  near,  and  yet  not  too  near,  the  white  man's  set 
tlement,  now  approaching  it  stealthily  in  the  dead  of  night, 
and  now  running  wildly  away  again  ;  now  coming  so  near 
that  from  his  rocky  hiding-place  he  could  see  the  smoke 
of  their  fires  resting  on  the  distant  hillsides,  and  now 
dashing  fiercely  miles  and  miles  and  miles  into  the  silent 
hills ;  now  groaning  madly,  rolling  on  the  ground,  that 
he  had  done  the  deed,  and  now  springing  up  with  clenched 
fists  and  blazing  eyes,  thirsting  to  do  the  murder  over 
again  and  ten  thousand  others  like  it.  I  knew  that  even 
the  canon-stream  could  not  alternate  so  quickly  between 
insane  dashing  and  idiot  quietness  as  he,  and  if  I  should 
come  upon  him  in  his  quieter  moods  I  might  take  him 
alive,  but  if  when  he  was  fierce  with  madness  and  remorse 
I  must  kill  him.  And,  as  I  searched,  these  and  many 
other  thoughts  went  through  my  excited  mind. 

"  But  how  could  I  kill  him  ?  Never  had  my  hand  slain 
human  being,  and  what  would  make  this  deed  the  harder 
was  that  I  had  known  Long  Knife  well.  Had  he  not  been 
a  member  of  our  own  tribe  ?  Had  we  not  slept  by  the  same 
streams,  and  eaten  by  the  same  camp-fires,  and  hunted 
on  the  same  rocks  ?  Had  we  not  obeyed  the  commands 
of  the  same  chief,  and  when  we  both  were  children  had 
we  not  sat  together  at  my  father's  feet  and  heard  his 
words  of  wisdom  ?  Yet  when  I  pictured  to  myself  what 
he  had  done,  and  how  his  deed  had  hung  a  spear  over  our 
whole  tribe,  and  how  my  very  wife  and  sweet  children 
were  concerned  in  the  doom,  I  felt  that  I  could  do  the 
deed.  The  more  I  thought  of  this  as  I  struggled  on  over 
the  rocks,  the  more  I  was  sure  I  could  kill  him.  Was  he 
not  virtually  the  murderer  not  simply  of  the  white  man 


.-/.V  EMPTY  SUCCESS.  107 

but  of  our  tribe  and  my  dear  ones  as  well  ?  Yet  at  other 
moments  I  pitied  him.  At  the  back  of  all  the  difficulty  I 
knew  the  white  man  stood,  with  his  sham  professions  of 
law  and  his  smiling  hypocrisy  and  his  cruel  deceits.  Long 
Knife  was  only  the  instrumental  cause  of  the  doom  that 
rested  on  our  people.  Still,  he  had  known  how  unjustly 
the  white  man  holds  the  tribe  responsible  for  the  crime 
of  any  of  its  members,  and  knowing  it  had  not  hesitated 
to  commit  the  deed  and  bring  down  upon  us  the  doom. 
However  unjust,  and  shamefully  so,  the  white  man  might 
be,  Long  Knife  was  the  immediate,  the  nearest  cause  of 
the  difficulty,  and  as  I  brooded  more  and  more  over  it  I 
began  to  hate  him.  Yes,  I  hated  him.  And  in  my  hate 
the  pride  of  my  race  blended,  and  the  love  of  my  wife  and 
the  joy  of  having  sons,  and  all  these  made  me  hate  him 
the  more.  I  transferred  all  the  traditional  scorn  I  had  of 
the  white  man  to  him,  who  was  at  least  the  instrument  by 
whom  the  stronger  race  could  inflict  all  its  cruel  injustice 
upon  us.  I  hated  the  white  man  in  him.  I  hated  him 
more  in  the  morning  than  I  had  done  in  the  evening,  and 
more  in  the  evening  than  in  the  morning.  The  flowers 
which  bloom  in  such  prodigal  splendor  and  multitude 
upon  the  high  mountains  stared  amazed  at  me  as  I  passed 
exclaiming,  'I  hate  him!  I  hate  him!  I  hate  him!' 
But  I  crushed  the  flowers  down,  so  they  should  not  shame 
me  out  of  my  hatred  by  their  large  and  beautiful  eyes,  and 
I  hated  him  all  the  more  because  he  had  caused  me  to 
make  such  destruction  of  lovely  things. 

"  Meanwhile  I  never  for  a  moment  relaxed  my  agony  to 
find  his  trail.  The  wondrous  beauty  of  the  scenery  around 
me  claimed  not  a  single  look.  The  morning  dawned,  and 
was  amazed  to  see  that  a  red  man  could  be  out  on  the 
mountains  and  not  be  lost  in  rapture  at  the  splendor  of 
its  coming.  The  evening  went  to  sleep,  and  with  its  last 


io8  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

peeps  of  light  it  wondered  that  I  should  turn  my  back 
upon  it  and  not  admire  its  radiance  by  word  or  look.  But 
I  had  eyes  for  the  grass,  the  sage-brush,  and  the  flowers, 
only  to  see,  if  I  might,  where  Long  Knife  had  gone,  where 
he  had  rested,  where  crouched  for  a  moment,  and  in  what 
direction  hurried  away.  The  days  were  coming  and  going, 
the  nights  were  hurrying,  the  fate  of  my  people  was  being 
decided,  and  I  must  not  rest.  My  brain  was  on  fire  with 
hope,  and  yet  I  was  filled  with  a  constant  dread  that  I 
should  not  succeed  after  all.  Some  strange  thing  told 
me  that  if  any  one  should  save  my  people  it  must  be  I.  I 
knew,  as  if  by  a  revelation  from  Wakanda,  that  the  scout- 
ing-parties  would  not  find  Long  Knife,  that  I  must  never 
rest,  never  stop  for  sleep,  never  delay  e"ven  for  eating,  if  I 
hoped  to  avert  the  horrible  doom.  Such  wild  roots  as  I 
could  catch  up  while  I  walked  I  ate  hurriedly,  and  I  bent 
at  every  spring  and  rill  that  I  came  upon  and  tried  to 
quench  my  agony  of  thirst.  But  still  my  fever  burned 
more  wildly  than  before,  and  still  I  hastened  hither  and 
thither,  wherever  a  man  could  hide,  saving  madly  to  my 
self,  '  I  must  find  him  !  I  must  have  his  blood  ! ' 

"  So  the  days  passed.  Sometimes  I  feared  that  in  the 
greatness  of  my  agony  I  would  not  number  them  aright ; 
but  I  found  that  my  very  anxiety  and  distress,  being  so 
frantic,  prevented  me  forgetting  even  for  the  slightest 
moment  what  day  it  was.  My  memory  of  little  things 
was  so  vivid  that  I  could  recall  every  circumstance  that 
had  attended  my  first,  second,  third,  or  any  day  that  I 
had  been  upon  the  search ;  and  so  by  arranging  the 
transactions  of  the  several  days  before  my  mind  I  could 
confirm  my  count.  Thus  the  tenth  sun  rose  as  brightly 
as  the  others  had  done,  and  the  eleventh,  and  they  set 
again, — without  leading  me  to  the  criminal's  hiding-place. 

"Just  before  the  setting  of  the  twelfth  sun,  the  sky, 


A.V   KMPTY  SUCCESS.  109 

which  had  been  remarkably  clear  and  beautiful,  became 
suddenly  overcast  with  great  clouds.  They  came  sweep 
ing  up  from  the  valleys  just  beyond  the  range  on  which  I 
stood,  and,  parting  now  and  then  to  circle  a  high  peak, 
they  would  come  together  again  nearer  me  and  career  on 
wilder  than  before.  I  watched  the  coming  storm  chang 
ing  its  hues  from  gray  to  brown,  from  brown  to  scarlet, 
and  from  scarlet  to  black,  and  I  thought  what  a  mighty 
and  portentous  type  it  revealed  of  the  doom  that  was 
sweeping  upon  my  race.  I  tried  to  think  that  Wakanda 
guided  our  dark  destinies  as  surely  and  easily  as  he  did 
those  apparently  lawless  masses  of  heavy  vapor,  but  in 
the  maddened  state  of  my  mind  the  thought  either  would 
not  possess  me  or  gave  me  no  courage.  I  tried  to  look 
up  into  the  heavens  as  the  bright  flowers  around  me  did, 
as  brave  as  they,  and  as  trustful  that  out  of  all  this 
tumult  and  night  the  refreshment  would  come  and  the 
morrow  dawn  again;  but  I  could  not.  Soon  the  thunder 
became  more  fearful,  the  lightning  darted  hither  and 
thither  among  the  rocks,  and  the  great,  heavy  drops  of 
the  coming  rain  began  to  fall  among  the  pine-cones.  The 
breeze  freshened  moment  by  moment ;  the  loosened  stones 
fell  with  a  thundering  crash  into  the  valley,  three  thou 
sand  feet  below ;  the  roar  of  the  storm,  hastening  up  to 
its  full  fury,  smote  me  as  with  heavy  blows ;  and  the 
swollen  stream,  near  at  hand,  raged  and  hissed  so  as  to 
be  heard  above  all  the  tumult.  You  cannot  imagine,  my 
children,  how  fierce  the  lightning  is  in  a  mountain  storm, 
and  how  full  of  it  the  air  becomes.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
day  that  the"  whole  mountain  was  one  mass  of  forked 
flame  :  the  rocks  were  glowing  with  it,  the  pines  were 
wreathed  with  it;  the  aspens,  girded  with  it,  forgot  to 
tremble.  I  knew  it  was  certain  death  to  remain  where  I 
was,  and  although  I  valued  my  life  little  in  itself,  yet, 


no  PLOUGHED    UNDER. 

because  of  the  deed  I  felt  I  must  accomplish,  I  esteemed 
it  dear,  and. so  sought  refuge  under  a  large  boulder  which 
seemed  firmly  attached  to  the  mountain-side.  From  this 
safe  retreat  I  looked  out  with  wild  admiration  upon  the 
storm,  and,  feeling  it  terribly  in  sympathy  with  my  pas 
sions  and  moods  at  the  moment,  knew  something  of  my 
old  enjoyment  of  the  wild  elements. 

"  There  I  sat  until  it  must  have  been  midnight.  Sud 
denly  a  flash  of  lightning,  brighter  than  those  that  were 
constantly  shining,  lit  up  the  dark  entrance  of  a  cavern 
just  on  the  other  side  of  a  little  ravine  before  me,  and  I 
saw  what  seemed  a  human  face.  I  started  wildly  to  my 
feet,  awaiting  the  next  bright  flash.  It  came — yes !  O 
Wakanda! — it  was  he — Long  Knife!  I  could  see  him 
crouching  away  from  the  storm,  shivering  whenever  it 
thundered,  and  holding  his  eyes  against  the  lightning. 
Awfully  haggard  and  careworn  he  looked,  and  for  a 
moment  I  pitied  him.  But  only  for  a  moment.  After 
that  I  hated  him  far  more  than  ever.  He  had  not  seen 
me,  and  I  hoped  that  by  coming  suddenly  upon  him,  when 
he  was  so  terrified  by  the  storm,  I  might  take  him  pris 
oner  and  deliver  him  to  the  white  men,  leaving  them  to 
take  his  life. 

"  Full  of  this  purpose  and  wild  with  hope,  I  came  out  of 
my  retreat  and  began  eagerly  to  skirt  the  ravine  so  as  to 
reach  him.  The  storm  was  wild  enough  still  to  conceal 
the  noise  of  my  footsteps,  yet  I  stepped  with  great  caution 
and  cursed  every  twig  that  snapped  under  my  feet.  I  no 
longer  thought  of  any  danger  from  the  lightning,  and 
although  it  buried  its  forked  burning  tongues  into  the 
soil  beside  me  once  and  again,  I  did  not  even  shudder. 
My  whole  soul  was  filled  with  one  desire,  and  I  had 
thought  for  nothing  else.  I  had  much  more  difficulty  in 
getting  around  the  ravine  than  I  had  anticipated  ;  but  at 


AN  EMPTY  SUCCESS,  in 

last,  after  the  greatest  struggling  over  slippery  rocks  and 
through  muddy  thickets,  I  approached  the  spot  where  he 
lay.  The  bank  overhung  him  so  that  he  was  not  visible 
to  me,  or  I  to  him,  and  therefore  I  determined  to  creep  to 
the  edge  of  the  bank,  stare  down  into  his  frightened  face 
and  demand  his  surrender.  I  crept  noiselessly  forward. 
I  held  my  breath.  Every  muscle  and  nerve  of  my  body 
was  drawn  into  one  agony,  and  I  felt  that  if  I  did  not  soon 
clutch  the  criminal  my  whole  being,  with  one  snap,  would 
die.  I  reached  the  edge  of  the  bank,  peered  cautiously 
over,  and  there  he  lay  within  three  feet  of  me. 

"  My  lips  were  just  parting  to  speak,  when,  taking  down 
his  hands  from  his  eyes,  he  turned  his  haggard  face  up 
and  saw  me.  Oh  the  wild  look  in  those  staring  eyes! 
Oh  the  deep  agony  upon  those  purple  lips  !  With  one 
cry  of  terror,  such  as  the  wild  beast  at  bay  might  make, 
he  sprang  twenty  feet  sheer  down  the  side  of  the  ravine, 
and  before  I  recovered  myself  he  was  out  of  sight  in  the 
storm.  I  had  not  the  despair  to  make  me  take  the  leap 
after  him,  and  by  the  time  I  had  gained  the  spot  where  he 
had  alighted  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  It  was  impossi 
ble  to  follow  his  trail  in  such  a  night,  although  I  could 
scarce  bring  myself  to  believe  it ;  but  feeling  sure  that  I 
could  overtake  him  now  that  his  trail  was  found,  I 
returned  and  took  shelter  in  the  very  cavern  that  he 
had  crouched  in. 

"  How  slowly  the  hours  passed,  and  how  I  filled  them 
with  moans  and  cries,  you  can  easily  imagine.  At  the 
first  glimmer  of  early  light  I  was  standing  on  the  spot 
where  the  deep  indentations  in  the  soil  and  gravel  showed 
he  had  struck  the  earth  after  his  leap.  Then  began  the 
terrible  chase.  There  was  something  certain  before  me, 
and  the  thought  gave  me  almost  the  bear's  strength  and 
the  deer's  endurance.  I  knew  that  I  was  far  swifter  of 


H2  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

foot  than  he,  and  his  start  could  not  be  very  great,  as  he 
must  have  been  delayed  by  the  storm  of  the  night.  How 
I  could  picture  him  rushing  with  frightened  face  through 
the  storm,  turning  to  see  if  I  were  at  hand,  trembling  at 
every  sound,  falling  prostrate  in  his  too  great  haste,  and 
springing  up  again  with  wilder  energy  than  before ! 

"  He  took  a  course  toward  the  upper  rocks,  hoping  per 
haps  that  I  would  lose  the  trail  when  the  grass  and  under 
brush  ceased.  But  I  believe  my  intense  passion  would 
have  helped  me  to  read  his  footprints  on  solid  and  smooth 
rock.  I  followed  him  as  the  she-wolf  follows  her  victim. 
All  that  day  and  all  the  succeeding  night,  which  was 
bright  and  starlit,  I  followed  him.  Sometimes  the  trail 
would  be  indistinct  and  I  would  lose  many  precious 
moments  ;  at  other  places  I  could  fancy  the  point  he  wished 
to  reach,  and  by  a  shorter  path  I  could  regain  what  I  had 
lost.  Once  I  saw  him,  pushing  his  way  up  and  still  up, 
panting  for  breath  in  the  thin  air  and  casting  frightened 
looks  behind ;  but  a  huge  rock  hid  him  from  my  sight  again. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  day  I  saw  that  the 
path  he  had  chosen  would  lead  him  to  a  wide  table-rock 
at  the  very  summit  of  one  of  the  highest  peaks  of  all  the 
Rockies.  From  this  rock  there  was  only  one  way  of 
ascent  or  descent,  and  that  was  the  very  ridge  we  were 
then  advancing  upon.  I  knew  that  in  a  few  half-hours 
Long  Knife  would  be  brought  to  bay,  and  then  the  dread 
and  deadly  conflict  between  us  would  begin.  Inspired 
with  a  new  courage,  I  pressed  still  more  vigorously  for 
ward,  and  passing  round  the  corner  of  a  great  boulder 
I  saw  him.  Yes,  I  saw  him !  He  had  gained  the  table- 
rock,  and  now  knew  that  his  escape  was  impossible.  Oh, 
never  shall  I  forget  the  spectacle  he  made,  wild  with  re 
morse  and  fear,  standing  alone  on  that  mighty  peak,  while 
beyond  him  nothing  could  be  seen  but  the  deep  blue  of 


AN  EMPTY  SUCCESS.  113 

heaven !  When  he  saw  me  he  wrung  his  hands  in  the  most 
dreadful  manner,  and  began  to  heap  curses  upon  my  head. 
I  was  rejoiced  to  see  that  he  was  not  armed,  and  thus  I 
regarded  him  as  my  prisoner  already.  After  the  first 
shudderings  of  fear  had  passed  over  him  he  awaited  me, 
perfectly  calm,  and  I  could  see  by  his  clinched  teeth  and 
resolute  air  that  some  stern  purpose  was  in  his  mind. 
When  I  came  so  near  to  him  that  my  voice  could  be  heard 
I  cried : 

" '  Surrender  to  me,  Long  Knife,  and  I  shall  do  thee  no 
harm ! ' 

" '  No  harm  ! '  he  said,  glaring  down  upon  me,  '  who  can 
do  harm  to  a  man  hunted  by  conscience?  But  take  this, 
thou  boaster,  for  thy  pains  ! ' 

"With  these  words  he  suddenly  bent  to  the  earth, 
caught  up  a  huge  stone  that  lay  at  his  feet,  and  hurled  it 
down  the  narrow  path  toward  me.  He  flung  it  with  so  true 
an  aim  that,  though  I  sought  to  avoid  it  by  springing  aside 
with  all  my  agility,  it  struck  me  upon  the  ankle,  mashing 
the  bone.  I  felt  at  the  time  but  slight  pain  from  the  hurt, 
but  oh !  through  my  whole  life  there  has  been  a  bitter 
aching  of  soul  because  of  it. 

" '  Ha !  ha ! '  Long  Knife  exclaimed,  '  how  feels  the  brave 
Um-pan-nez-zhe  now  ? ' 

" '  Strong  enough,'  I  cried,  '  to  take  thy  scalp ! ' 

"'That  thou  shalt  never  do,'  he  replied.  'I  shall  die 
at  no  man's  hand.  I  perish  upon  Wakanda's  rocks.  Alas ! 
that  my  life  should  be  so  soon  blighted  !  Alas  !  for  the 
youth  of  the  noble  Long  Knife !  Alas !  that  his  eyes  shall 
never  more  rejoice  at  the  coming  of  the  morning  or  gaze 
at  the  setting  of  the  sun  !  But  I  will  die  bravely  !  I  hate 
the  white  men,  and  I  curse  the  red.  Enemy  of  all,  I  shall 
crave  pardon  of  none.  I  die  thus  freely,  and  I  conquer  as 
I  die!' 


H4  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  With  these  fearful  words,  chanted  in  a  mournful  strain, 
he  cast  himself  headlong  from  the  rock  where  he  stood 
into  the  awful  abyss  below.  T  saw  him  shoot  like  an  arrow 
through  the  air,  and  as  he  fell  only  one  wild  scream 
escaped  his  lips.  Several  awful  seconds  were  consumed 
in  his  fall,  but  at  last  I  saw  him  strike  the  cruel  rocks, 
four  thousand  feet  below,  where  he  lay  motionless  and 
lifeless.  Alas,  poor  Long  Knife,  how  terrible  was  thy 
fate  !  Thy  bitterest  enemy,  who  tracked  thee  as  if  thirst 
ing  for  thy  blood  to  the  last  hiding-place  thou  couldst 
find,  bows  pitying  before  thee ! 

"  It  was  only  when  I  began  to  descend  to  him  that  I 
realized  how  seriously  my  ankle  was  injured.  At  first  I 
could  wralk  without  any  great  difficulty,  but  the  pain  in 
creased  with  every  step  and  soon  became  unbearable.  I 
sat  down  beside  a  little  stream  that  raged  across  my  path, 
and  stripping  off  the  inner  bark  from  several  aspens  that 
grew  near,  I  bound  up  my  aching  limb  in  them,  after 
having  soaked  them  in  water.  Then  I  was  able  to  proceed 
My  anxiety  to  have  his  scalp  gave  me  strength,  and  at  last 
I  had  descended  to  the  spot  where  he  lay,  a  tangled  mass 
of  human  flesh.  Oh !  how  I  pitied  him !  If  he  had 
allowed  himself  to  be  guided  by  my  father's  principles  of 
wisdom,  and  borne  anything  rather  than  kill  a  white  man, 
he  might  have  been  among  our  best  warriors.  But  here  he 
lay,  hated  alike  by  the  white  men  and  the  red,  because 
passion  instead  of  wisdom  had  controjled  him.  But  I 
knew  I  must  not  delay,  and  hastily  tearing  from  him  his 
bloody  scalp,  the  only  one  I  ever  took,  I  left  him  to  the 
eagles  who,  having  scented  a  feast  from  afar,  were  already 
circling  in  the  air  above  him. 

"  It  was  now  noon  of  the  fourteenth  day.  I  knew  not 
how  far  I  had  wandered  from  our  village,  and  only  that 
sun  shining  above  me,  and  another,  were  allowed  me  for 


AN  EMPTY  SUCCESS.  115 

* 
the  return.     But  holding  aloft  the  bloody  prize  which  I 

believed  would  save  my  wife  and  little  ones  from  death,  I 
started.  The  pain  in  my  ankle  made  my  progress  very 
slow,  and  I  was  frequently  compelled  to  stop  and  bathe  it 
in  the  streams  I  crossed.  The  agony  I  endured  upon  this 
journey  only  Wakanda  knows.  The  physical  pain  I  suffered 
was  as  nothing  compared  with  the  deep  distress  that  fed 
upon  my  mind  as  the  wolf-cubs  feed  upon  the  deer's  heart. 
What  if  I  should  be  too  late  after  all  ?  I  thought.  How 
far  could  it  be  to  our  village  ?  Would  my  crushed  ankle 
allow  me  to  make  the  trip  in  time  to  save  my  people? 
These  and  a  thousand  other  thoughts  and  misgivings 
passed  through  my  mind.  The  weary  hours  of  that  after 
noon  passed  while  I  dragged  myself  along,  and  the  dark 
moments  of  the  succeeding  night  became  things  of  yester 
day.  Still  I  plodded  patiently  and  painfully  homeward. 
The  last  sun  arose,  and  still  there  was  not  one  in  all  the 
wilderness  of  hills  that  rose  around  me  that  I  could  recog 
nize.  The  terrible  conclusion  flashed  upon  my  mind  that 
I  must  have  gone  many,  many  miles  in  my  eager  pursuit 
of  the  criminal,  without  noting  the  distance;  and  only 
by  the  most  agonizing  efforts  could  I  hope  to  reach  our 
village  in  time  to  avert  the  slaughter. 

"  Oh,  how  I  prayed  for  strength  !  Oh,  how  I  cursed 
the  stone  that  had  crippled  me  and  prevented  me  being 
the  savior  of  my  people !  Now  I  would  cast  myself  upon 
the  ground  in  hopeless  despair,  thinking  that  all  my  efforts 
were  useless.  Then  I  would  start  wildly  up,  chiding  my 
self  for  the  precious  moments  lost  through  such  cowardice, 
and  thinking  that  the  least  I  could  possibly  do  was  to 
spend  the  very  last  minute  in  earnest,  although  it  might 
be  useless,  endeavor  to  reach  our  village.  In  the  moments 
of  my  deepest  distress  I  would  throw  the  scalp  of  Long 
Knife  upon  the  ground  and  stamp  upon  it  in  fury.  Then 


n6  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

I  would  catch  it  up  and  hurry  away.  Oh,  how  I  envied 
the  eagles  their  wings,  and  the  antelopes  their  speed,  and 
thought,  itself,  its  power  instantly  to  fly  to  the  point  it 
desires  to  reach  ! 

"  Thus  passed  the  last  day  allowed  to  us.  I  wept  long 
and  bitterly  when  I  saw  the  fifteenth  sun  sink  behind  the 
foot-hills.  Its  dying  moments  were  just  as  I  had  often  seen 
them,  the  beauty  of  the  crimson  clouds  was  the  same  ;  but 
never,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  had  so  much  depended  on  a 
sunset — never  had  it  sealed  so  many  dooms.  I  thought 
of  my  faithful  wife  and  my  beautiful  children.  Perhaps 
they  would  blame  me  for  remaining  away,  thinking  that  I 
had  deserted  them  to  their  fate.  This  thought  almost 
maddened  me.  But,  on  the  contrary,  I  dared  at  moments 
to  hope  that  some  kind  plan  of  Wakanda  would  delay 
the  slaughter  and  I  might  still  arrive  in  time  to  save  my 
people.  Encourage'd  by  this  thought,  I  would  advance 
more  rapidly  than  before,  although  much  of  the  way  I  was 
compelled  to  hop  upon  one  foot,  and  the  pain  in  my 
swollen  ankle  almost  made  me  wild.  Thus  the  nights 
and  days  passed — hopelessly,  painfully  passed.  The  six 
teenth  sun  was  no  more,  the  seventeenth  followed  it,  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  were  things  of  the  past — and 
on  the  evening  of  the  twentieth  day  after  the  decree  of 
the  white  man  had  been  read  in  our  camp,  I  stood  in  the 
gateway  to  the  valley  in  which  our  village  was  built. 
Just  before  me  was  a  large  rock  projecting  out  into  the 
valley,  and  I  knew  that  when  I  had  passed  that  all  the 
humble  homes  of  my  people  would  be  in  full  sight.  But 
I  feared  so  much. that  the  slaughter  had  been  made  that 
I  dared  not  pass  that  rock.  I  stopped  and  listened.  No 
happy  laugh  of  child,  no  shout  of  youth,  no  voice  of  man, 
met  my  ear.  All  was  silent,  save  that  I  heard  the  flap  of 
some  bird's  wing  as  it  hovered  near  the  ground. 


AN  EMPTY  SUCCESS.  117 

"  'O  Wakanda!'  I  cried,  'has  the  dreadful  doom  come 
upon  my  wife  and  babes  ?  ' 

"  Frantic  with  fear,  I  burst  round  the  rock,  and  what  a 
sight  met  my  gaze !  All  our  beautiful  homes  were  burned 
to  the  ground.  The  bodies  of  my  people  were  scattered 
upon  the  bloody  sward.  As  I  advanced  I  frightened  off 
a  flock  of  crows  and  vultures  who  we're  fattening  on  cheeks 
I  had  kissed  and  hands  I  had  held  in  mine.  I  went, 
trembling  like  an  aspen-leaf,  among  the  terrible  collection, 
recognizing  here  the  chief  and  there  a  brother  and  there 
a  friend.  In  their  hands  they  still  grasped  their  weapons, 
and  on  their  pale  lips  was  the  scowl  of  battle.  The  blood 
was  scarcely  dry  in  their  terrible  wounds,  their  useless 
weapons  had  not  begun  to  rust,  and  I  knew  that  the  day 
before  must  have  been  that  on  which  the  fatal  conflict 
had  occurred.  Oh  !  to  think  I  had  been  only  so  few  hours 
too  late  to  prevent  the  taking  of  so  many  precious  lives, 
which  all  my  tears  and  my  most  passionate  cries  could  not 
now  recall  from  the  silence  and  coldness  whither  they  had 
gone ! 

" '  At  least,'  I  said,  mournfully  musing, '  my  noble  people 
died  bravely  defending  themselves  and  their  little  ones 
against  the  whites.' 

"  Nowhere  could  I  find  the  body  of  my  noble  father ; 
the  cause  of  his  absence  you  know,  my  children.  And 
for  a  long  time  I  could  not  find  thy  mother,  my  Prairie 
Flower,  though  my  brave  sons  were  lying  dead  where  they 
had  fought  and  fallen  beside  their  chief.  At  last  in  a  little 
copse  which  grew  near  the  spot  where  my  once  happy 
home  had  stood  I  saw  thy.  mother  lying.  Her  breast  had 
been  pierced  by  a  bullet,  and  her  folcfed  hands  showed 
she  had  died  pleading  for  her  life.  Beside  her  dead  body 
I  threw  down  the  scalp  of  Long  Knife,  stamped  and  spit 
upon  it  in  rage,  and  exclaimed : 


n  PLOUGHED    UNDER. 

"'Was  it  for  this,  O  Wakanda  !  I  traversed  the  moun 
tains — for  this  I  scalped  the  Long  Knife  ?  Was  it  for  this 
I  have  suffered  agonies  that  man  never  felt  before  ?  O 
Wakanda  !  O  my  noble  wife !  O  my  brave  sons  !  Ma-shan  ! 
Ma-shan!' 

"  I  fell  helpless  to  the  earth,  and  had  almost  sunk  into 
insensibility  when  I  was  startled  to  hear  the  feeble  cry  of 
an  infant.  Wondering  much  whence  it  could  come,  I 
started  up  and  hastened  toward  it.  From  a  box  which 
lay  not  far  from  thy  mother's  side  the  wail  had  risen,  and 
turning  the  rude  hiding-place  over  I  drew  thee  forth,  my 
Prairie  Flower,  wrapped  in  a  bright  scarf  that  I  had  given 
thy  mother  on  our  wedding-day.  Thou  didst  smile  at 
once  and  weep,  to  see  my  face,  and  hugging  thee  to  my 
heart,  I  looked  up  to  heaven  and  said  : 

" '  O  Wakanda !  I  thank  thee  1  I  can  still  live  and  still 
forgive ! ' " 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BLINDFOLDED   JUSTICE. 

WHEN  Standing  Elk  had  concluded  this  part  of  his 
story  he  paused  because  of  very  emotion.  His  eyes  were 
blinded  with  tears,  and  the  deep  wrinkles  on  his  cheek  ran 
full  of  them.  The  tears  of  an  Indian  warrior,  and  of  an 
Indian  wise  man,  must  be  called  forth  by  some  great  sorrow 
indeed — they  are  the  very  weightiest  that  fall.  Little 
Prairie  Flower,  seeing  her  father  weep,  stole  to  his  side, 
since  there  she  believed  her  true  place  and  office  to  be, 
laid  her  head  upon  his  shoulder,  and  wiped  away  his  tears 
with  her  long  shining  hair. 

While  the  wise  man's  story  was  being  told,  one  after 
another  of  our  people  had  gathered  round  my  aspen  arbor 
to  hear  it,  so  that  now  a  large  number  were  crouching  on 
the  ground  on  every  side,  thrilled  with  his  tale  and 
sympathizing  with  his  woe. 

O  mighty  Secretaries  of  the  Interior !  O  noble  Com 
missioners  of  Indian  Affairs!  O  learned  Senators  and 
Debaters !  O  people  who  boast  of  your  equal  laws !  O 
fathers  who  are  proud  of  sons,  and  mothers  who  love 
babes!  O  young  men  and  women  who  weep  over 
imaginary  tales  of  woe — would  you  not  have  pitied  us  had 
you  seen  us  sadly  crouching  there,  the  poor  remnant  of  a 
once  proud  and  powerful  race,  bemoaning  much  the  ruin 
that  had  fallen  on  our  people  in  the  past,  but  bemoaning 
more  the  sad  prospect  that  our  time  to  bear  the  white 
man's  unpitying  blow  might  soon  come?  Ours  was  a  real 
fear,  ours  was.  a  real  despair.  The  uncertain  light  of  the 


120  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

night  was  just  beginning  to  break  through  the  clouds 
which  were  scattering  after  the  storm,  and  the  weird 
shadows,  chasing  each  other  across  the  prairies,  passed 
over  our  spirits  as  well.  And  the  dread  uncertainty  in 
our  hearts  was  far  greater  than  any  gray  darkness  of  a 
stormy  night  could  ever  be  ;  for  when  such  strong  enemies 
were  against  us,  and  when  they  had  such  an  awful  hold 
upon  us  as  the  threat  against  our  wives  and  children 
furnished  them  with,  how  could  we  hope  long  to  enjoy  the 
freedom  so  dear  to  us,  and  live  in  the  homes  we  ourselves 
had  built?  We  felt  that,  as  there  was  no  law  to  which 
we  could  appeal,  as  we  had  no  friend  stronger  than  the 
white  man,  all  we  could  do  was  to  turn  our  petitions  to 
Wakanda,  whose  ears  are  never  closed  to  the  wail  of 
distress,  no  matter  what  the  color  of  the  lips  whence  it 
comes. 

But  the  story  of  the  wise  man  was  not  completed,  and 
therefore  I  said  to  him  : 

"  Noble  father,  did  not  the  white  man  accept  thy  father 
as  a  martyr  substitute  ?" 

At  this  question  the  sorrow  of  Standing  Elk  broke  forth 
afresh,  and  I  heard  the  soothing  voice  of  my  little  Prairie 
Flower  whispering  to  him  • 

"  Dear  father,  do  not  grieve  that  you  failed  to  save  my 
mother.  No  one  who  knows  the  pain  that  delayed  thy 
return  could  possibly  blame  thee  or  fail  to  admire  thy 
wonderful  strength  and  courage,  in  struggling  forward  at 
all.  Wakanda  I  know  forgives  thee,  and  my  mother,  if 
she  knows  all,  as  thou  hast  taught  me  she  does,  forgives 
thee  also  and  loves  thee  but  the  more." 

"  I  weep  not,  my  child,"  he  said,  "  for  what  I  have  told 
you,  but  for  what  I  have  still  to  tell." 

At  these  words  a  moan  passed  round  the  group  that 
listened.  Could  he  have  more  dreadful  things  to  recount  ? 


BLINDFOLDED  J  US  TICE  1 2 1 

Had  he  not  reached  the  depth  of  the  white  man's  perfidy? 
What  sadder  thing  could  he  relate  than  the  dreadful  story 
he  had  already  told  ? 

When  he  could  command  his  voice  sufficiently  to 
resume  his  narrative  the  wise  man  said  : 

"  To  me  the  saddest  part  of  the  story  is  the  scorn  that 
my  father's  poor  remains  met  with  from  the  white  men. 
I  have  told  you  how  gladly  he  laid  down  his  life  to  vindi 
cate  my  bravery  and  save  his  people.  They  lifted  up  his 
body  from  the  rocks  where  it  had  fallen,  the  green  moss 
clinging  to  his  gray  hair  as  they  carried  him,  and  while 
yet  his  body  was  warm  they  laid  him  at  the  feet  of  the 
commander. 

" '  Here  is  thy  satisfaction  ! '  they  said. 

"The  commander  was  friendly  to  the  red  men,  as  so 
many  of  the  white  man's  officers  and  soldiers  have  been, 
and  wished  to  save  us.  Therefore  he  said  : 

" '  It  is  well,  my  friends.  You  have  done  nobly,  and  the 
Great  Father  will  certainly  not  forget  you.' 

"  But  standing  near,  there  was  one  of  those  wicked 
white  men  whom  no  words  of  hatred  and  cursing  can 
forcibly  describe  aright — a  man  who  coveted  our  land, 
and  for  years  after  the  fatal  slaughter  I  am  to  describe 
lived  on  the  very  spot  where  our  village  had  stood  ;  a  man 
who  boasted  of  his  scorn  of  all  decency  and  law,  and  who 
had  openly  desired  for  many  months  to  ruin  our  people. 
This  man,  rising  with  great  show  of  justice,  said  to  the 
commander : 

"  '  This  is  not  the  criminal,  sir !  This  is  not  Long  Knife, 
as  you  very  well  know.  If  you  have  regard  for  the  opinion 
the  Great  Father  has  of  you,  you  must  carry  out  his  orders 
and  make  war  upon  this  tribe.' 

" '  How  is  this  ? '  the  commander  said  to  those  who  had 
brought  my  father's  body  to  him. 


122  PLOUGHED  UNDER, 

"  They  then  related  to  him  the  whole  story.  They  told 
him  how  anxiously  they  had  searched ;  how  they  had  held 
a  council  in  deep  despair;  how  the  brave  Standing  Elk 
was  still  upon  the  hills  and  might  any  moment  return 
with  the  criminal,  for,  they  said,  he  never  comes  empty- 
handed  home;  and  how  they  had  watched  for  me  the 
whole  night  through.  They  told  him,  with  tears,  how 
my  father  had  offered  to  die  to  vindicate  my  honor  and 
save  his  people,  and  how  with  sad  hearts  they  had  done 
the  wise  man's  wishes. 

" '  This  is  truly  a  pathetic  story,'  the  commander  said. 
'  I  must  send  word  to  the  Great  Father  and  get  his  orders 
in  the  matter.' 

" '  Will  you  tell  him  the  whole  story  ? '  they  asked. 
'  How  we  hunted  long  and  painfully  for  Long  Knife,  how 
Standing  Elk  is  still  away,  and  how  his  noble  father  died  ? ' 

" '  Yes,  I  will  tell  it  all,'  he  answered. 

"  He  sent  the  story  over  the  white  man's  talking  wires, 
and  after  two  days  an  answer  came  which,  with  a  few 
short  words,  sealed  the  death-doom  of  nearly  all  our  tribe. 
The  words  of  the  Great  Father  were  grand  and  boastful, 
but  they  were  words  of  murder.  I  do  not  know  how  the 
message  was  expressed,  but  the  meaning  of  it  was,  '  Make 
war  upon  them.  The  dignity  of  the  white  man  must  be 
preserved.'  Oh !  would  it  not  seem  a  grander  and  more 
enduring  dignity  to  have  had  charity  for  a  helpless  race, 
and  to  have  refrained  from  the  unprovoked  murder  of 
helpless  babes  and  women  ?  Have  the  white  men  no 
thought  of  the  consequences  of  the  crimes  they  commit 
against  us,  which  sooner  or  later  will  overtake  them 
though  they  are  the  most  powerful  race  upon  the  earth  ? 
And  perhaps  these  consequences  will  be  all  the  more 
deadly  and  ruinous  because  the  heads  upon  which  they 
fall  are  proud  and  lifted  high. 


BLIXDFOLDED  JUSTICE.  123 

"  You  have  beheld,  out  upon  the  prairie,  the  slow  but 
steady  rise  of  white  vapor  curling  to  the  skies,  and 
although  each  little  mist  thus  formed  seemed  slight  and 
powerless,  the  aggregate  of  all  when  joined  in  the  black, 
dense  cloud  could  sweep  whole  villages  away,  and  pour 
streams  of  heavy  rain  upon  the  land,  amid  thunder- 
ings  which  will  not  cease,  and  terrific  blinding  bolts  of 
lightning  which  strike  the  highest  objects  first  to  the 
ground.  Have  the  white  men  no  ears  to  hear  and  no 
hearts  to  dread  the  many  moans  and  cries  and  prayers 
that,  vapor-like,  are  rising  to  heaven,  to  pour  a  dark  and 
mighty  vengeance  on  their  heads  when  the  cup  of 
Wakanda's  forbearance  shall  be  full  and  overflow? 

"  The  first  notice  of  the  Great  Father's  answer  was  con 
veyed  to  my  poor  people  by  the  hasty  riding  of  one  of 
their  scouts  into  the  village,  crying: 

"  '  The  soldiers  are  upon  us !    The  soldiers  are  upon  us ! ' 

"This  was,  as  I  had  conjectured,  on  the  nineteenth  day 
after  the  decree  had  been  read  to  us,  and  the  day  before 
the  sad  one  when  I  returned  to  our  village.  During  all 
this  time  the  people  had  anxiously  watched  the  rocks 
above  them,  and  the  upper  parts  of  the  valley  in  which 
they  lived,  hoping  that  Standing  Elk  would  come  with 
the  scalp  of  the  criminal. 

"  When,  however,  the  scout  rode  in  shouting  these  fear 
ful  words,  all  hope  of  life  deserted  them.  The  moans 
and  wails  that  had  resounded  through  the  camp  instantly 
ceased,  and  in  a  silence  more  terrible  than  the  greatest 
tumult  could  have  been  they  prepared  to  die.  Hastily 
catching  up  .their  weapons,  the  warriors  took  positions 
of  safety  behind  boulders  and  trees,  while  the  women  and 
children  with  the  greatest  bravery  remained  at  their  sides. 
My  noble  sons  attended  the  chief  and  fought  with  him 
during  the  conflict. 


124  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  The  soldiers,  numbering  twice  as  many  as  our  warriors, 
marched  up  with  their  banners  flying  and  their  drums 
sounding,  as  if  they  were  performing  some  great  act  of 
bravery,  and  when  within  two  lariats'  distance  they  poured 
in  a  merciless  volley  upon  our  people.  Thus  the  unequal 
contest  began.  Our  warriors  defended  themselves  bravely, 
until  every  bullet  had  been  shot  and  every  arrow  used; 
then,  having  kissed  their  wives  and  hugged  their  little 
ones  to  their  breasts  a  moment,  they  started  up  and  cried  : 

"  '  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !  Alas  !  for  the  freedom  of  our 
race.  Alas  !  for  the  glory  of  the  red  man.  We  die!  we  die! 
Unjustly  and  shamefully  we  die  !  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  ! ' 

"  Making  this  cry  for  home  and  liberty,  they  rushed 
toward  the  white  men  that  they  might  die  the  more 
speedily.  There  was  a  volley.  And  when  the  smoke 
cleared  away,  scarce  a  score  of  all  my  noble  people  were 
left  alive.  These  were  allowed  to  escape.  But  the 
glorious  sun,  going  to  rest  that  lovely  evening,  looked 
down  upon  a  scene  of  bloody  horrors  which  has  never 
been  surpassed  in  all  the  dreadful  history  of  tyranny. 
And  this  is  simply  one  out  of  many  wholesale  massacres 
which  stare  the  white  men  in  the  face.  The  papers  in  all 
the  Great  Father's  cities,  I  was  told,  gave  a  most  false  and 
bitter  account  of  this  conflict,  representing  our  poor 
people  as  refusing  to  yield  up  the  criminal,  charging  us 
with  an  attempt,  at  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  to  creep 
upon  the  soldiers  to  slaughter  them,  and  praising  the 
commander  for  his  great  bravery.  We  had  no  means  to 
deny  these  statements,  and  thus  the  honest-hearted  among 
the  white  people  were  deceived,  and  the  base  schemers 
who  had  caused  the  murder  were  shielded  and  admired 
in  their  treachery  to  secure  our  lands. 

"When  I  had  found  thee,  my  Prairie  Flower,  in  the 
hiding-place  where  thy  poor  mother,  with  her  last  failing 


BLINDFOLDED  JUSTICE.  125 

love  and  strength,  had  placed  thec,  I  fled  with  thee  from 
that  fatal  spot  as  swiftly  as  my  injured  ankle  could  bear 
me,  andv  hastened  to  join  myself  to  Eagle  Wing's  band, 
whither  also  the  few  other  survivors  had  naturally  gone.  I 
pray  Wakanda  that  the  lust  and  avarice  of  the  white  men 
may  never  attack  us  here,  and  that  living  peaceably  and 
wisely  until  our  end  shall  come,  we  may  then  rest  undis 
turbed  among  our  fathers  upon  yonder  hill.  So,  Prairie 
Flower,  thou  hast  the  story  of  thy  mother's  death,  and 
thou,  Wolf  Killer,  hast  in  the  same  sad  recital  an  illustra 
tion  of  the  dreadful  slavery  we  are  in  to  the  white  man, 
and  of  the  galling  thongs  he  binds  us  with,  by  holding 
the  innocent  among  our  people  responsible  for  the  guilt 
of  the  criminal." 

The  night  was  far  advanced  when  the  wise  man  spoke 
these  concluding  words,  but  so  thrilled  were  we  by  his 
story  that  not  one  among  all  the  listeners  showed  any 
tedium  or  desire  to  go  to  their  rest.  The  tops  of  the 
mighty  pines  and  cottonwoods,  under  which  our  homes 
were  built,  began  to  rustle  and  murmur  their  midnight 
music,  and  the  roar  of  the  river,  never  ceasing  in  light  or 
darkness,  seemed  doubly  distinct  now  that  the  myriad 
noises  of  day  were  hushed.  My  mind  was  throbbing  with 
feverish  excitement,  and  though  my  heart  ran  alternate 
currents  of  submissive  fear  and  revengeful  hatred,  as  I 
thought  how  real  and  bitter  the  slavery  was  that  ground 
us  down,  still  I  hoped  that  somewhere  in  this  awful 
night  there  was  a  glimmer  of  hope  for  the  red  men,  and 
therefore  I  said  to  the  wise  Standing  Elk : 

"  My  father,  surely  this  case  you  relate  is  an  extreme 
one.  No  one  touched  by  the  least  feeling  of  human  sym 
pathy,  which  all  hearts  must  possess,  and  even  the  Great 
Father's  too,  could  possibly  order  a  repetition  of  such  a 
barbarous  outrage.  And  in  the  instance  you  mention,  he 


126  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

must  have  been  deceived  by  the  falsehoods  you  have  re 
ferred  to.  Tell  us,  my  father,  your  sad  story  is  a  bitter 
exception,  is  it  not,  to  the  general  treatment  the  red  men 
receive  from  the  white  ?" 

"My  son,"  the  wise  man  gravely  replied,  "the  holding 
of  the  innocent  among  us  responsible  for  the  crimes  of 
the  guilty  is  a  definite  policy,  adopted  deliberately  by  the 
white  man's  government,  defended  by  his  statesmen, 
clamored  for  by  the  multitudes,  demanded  loudly  and 
fiercely  by  his  public  journals,  and  repeated  as  many  times 
as  there  have  been  years  since  first  he  made  profession 
of  loving  liberty  himself  and  giving  it  to  all.  I  cast  my 
thought  over  the  names  of  all  the  proud  tribes  which 
once  possessed  this  wide  land  :  where  are  they  this  silent 
night?  Silent  as  it!  Not  one  single  tribe  among  the 
whole  multitude  but  has  been  butchered  and  destroyed, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  carrying  out  of  this  terri 
ble  law !  Yonder  river  flows  not  more  constantly  within 
its  banks  than  has  this  stream  of  unjust  and  unmerciful 
slaughter  poured  through  the  homes  of  our  race !" 

"But,"  I  asked,  "might  not  the  white  man  find  some 
excuse  for  this  cruel  dealing  with  us  from  the  fact  that  it 
would  be  exceedingly  hard  to  find  an  Indian  who  has  com 
mitted  a  crime,  unless  the  tribe  were  held  responsible?" 

"  The  white  men  make  the  most  of  this  plea.  But,  my 
son,  it  does  not  make  right  the  cruel  wrong.  In  my 
younger  years  I  made  a  visit  to  the  city  where  the  Great 
Father  lives.  One  night  while  we  were  there,  a  murder 
was  committed  in  one  of  the  low  streets.  The  next  morn 
ing  I  walked  out  and  saw  many  great  houses  where  the 
rich  and  learned  people  lived,  and  I  thought  to  myself : 
How  would  these  proud  men  and  women  feel  if  some  great 
king,  much  more  powerful  than  they,  should  send  a  vast 
army  and  demand  that  this  murderer  be  delivered  to  him 


BLINDFOLDED  JUSTICE.  1 2  7 

in  fifteen  days,  or  he  would  kill  them  all  and  burn  their 
beautiful  homes  to  the  ground  ?  They  would  answer  the 
king :  '  We  did  not  do  the  murder,  we  are  not  guilty,  and 
you  must  not  kill  us.'  But  the  king  would  answer:  'The 
murderer  has  not  been  found.  In  this  great  city  with  its 
many  streets  and  alleys  he  is  very  likely  to  escape,  and 
this  excuses  me  for  dragging  your  wives  and  little  ones 
from  your  comfortable  homes  and  putting  them  to  a 
shameful  death.'  They  would  answer  the  king :  '  Before  our 
laws,  and  before  your  own,  every  man  stands  alone.  If  the 
murderer  can  be  found  he  ought  certainly  to  be  punished, 
but  that  he  cannot  be  found  gives  you  no  right  to  kill  the 
innocent.'  And  the  king  would  say  :  '  I  care  not  what  your 
laws  hold,  and  as  for  my  own  I  can  regulate  them  to  suit 
myself.  I  am  far  stronger  than  you,  and  thus  I  can  and 
will  have  the  blood  of  your  warriors,  nay,  also  of  your 
wives  and  children.' 

"These  thoughts,  bitter  indeed,  but  it  seems  to  me  just, 
passed  through  my  mind  as  I  walked  that  beautiful  morn 
ing  before  those  splendid  mansions,  some  of  them  far 
higher  than  these  tallest  cottonwoods,  and  the  conclusion 
I  reached  was  this:  It  makes  all  the  difference  in  the 
world  whether  arguments  are  directed  against  ourselves 
or  against  those  whom  from  childhood  we  have  hated  and 
despised.  In  dripping  places,  near  our  rocky  springs,  there 
grows  a  plant  whose  pounded  root  drops  into  one  cup 
health  and  stimulus,  and  into  another  poison  and  death. 
Thus  a  policy  which  is  outrage  and  ruin  to  us  seems  to 
the  white  man  necessary  and  right.  But  if  they  were  to 
change  the  cup  at  their  lip  .for  ours,  how  bitter  and 
poisonous  the  draught  would  seem  !" 

With  these  sad  words  the  wise  man  became  silent.  A 
subdued  moan  passed  round  the  little  group  of  listeners. 
For  some  of  them  knew  by  experience,  and  all  could  guess, 


128  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

how  terrible  and  fatal  this  law  is  to  our  race.  For  many 
minutes  they  all  sat  mute  and  despairing  upon  the  ground, 
and  then,  one  by  one,  they  silently  arose  and  went  to  their 
homes.  I  held  Prairie  Flower  to  my  side,  fearing  that 
some  power  might  be  near  to  snatch  her  away  forever. 
Oh  !  if  I  could  but  write  down  upon  this  page  the  horror 
and  despair  and  the  many  intangible  emotions  of  bitter 
ness  and  dread  that  throbbed  within  my  heart  as  I  felt  my 
bride's  soft  touch  upon  my  hand  and  warm  breath  upon  my 
cheek,  and  thought  how  some  white  man  might,  before 
my  eyes,  insult  or  maltreat  her,  and  that  I  could  appeal  to  no 
law  for  protection, — could  not  even  strike  the  foul  villain 
to  the  earth  without  bringing  disgrace  and  ruin  upon  my 
whole  tribe,  I  am  sure  real  sympathy  would  come  into 
your  hearts  for  us,  and  in  your  eyes  tears  of  real  sorrow  for 
our  woes !  How  can  it  be,  I  thought,  the  mere  shade  of 
one's  skin  brings  upon  him  such  deep  and  irremediable 
woe !  My  thoughts  were  again  interrupted  by  the  voice 
of  the  wise  man  : 

"  My  children,  I  have  told  you  my  story.  You  behold 
me,  a  bowed  and  broken  man  of  many  years  and  many 
sorrows.  In  Wakanda's  Home,  but  only  there  I  fear,  will 
the  white  man  learn  that  the  despised  Indian  is  his  brother, 
and  might,  had  he  been  blessed  and  encouraged  by  just 
laws,  have  become  the  helper  and  equal  of  the  more 
favored  race.  There  I  shall  soon  be.  You  remember  the 
scorched  and  blackened  elm-tree  that  stands  alone  upon 
yonder  hill.  It  has  proudly  suffered  many  lightning- 
strokes  and  waved  through  many  prairie-fires,  but  now 
every  branch  is  gone,  the  mere  stump  remains;  yet  at 
morning  and  evening  the  glory  of  coming  or  departing 
day  rests  in  a  glory  of  beauty  upon  its  head.  It  has  by 
patience  conquered.  Only  thus  can  any  man  triumph 
over  his  destiny.  At  the  foot  of  the  scorched  stump  there 


BLINDFOLDED  JUSTICE.  129 

grows  one  little  elm-sprout,  slender  and  beautiful  as  a  ray 
of  light,  and  in  that  sprout  the  old  tree  shall  live  again.  I 
am  that  blackened  elm-trunk,  standing  upon  the  hill — 

"And  I,"  little  Prairie  Flower  exclaimed  joyously,  "am 
the  twig?  Nay,  my  father,  I  am  a  strong  tree,  to  hold 
thee  and  comfort  thee  in  thine  age ! " 

"  Bless  thee,  my  dear.  Thy  mother  and  I  shall  live 
again  in  thee.  And  it  may  be  that  the  elm-sprout  I  have 
spoken  of  may  be  saved  from  the  fires  by  which  the  old 
tree  was  blackened.  So  I  pray  Wakanda  that  in  the 
greater  wisdom  of  the  white  man  a  protecting  law  may  be 
given  to  you  both  to  save  you  from  the  woes  your  parents 
have  suffered." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

KIND   FACE  AND   GRAY   COAT. 

THERE  was  a  shriveled  little  Frenchman  living  near 
our  reservation,  whose  heart  was  always  warm  toward 
us  and  whose  hands  were  always  full  of  gifts  for  our  necessi 
ties.  He  dwelt  in  that  most  singular  species  of  domicile 
called  by  the  Western  people  a  "dug-out,"  because  mostly 
underground.  In  fact,  the  Frenchman's  home  was  simply 
a  cellar  hollowed  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  with  a  roof  of  plain 
pine  boards.  It  had  but  one  room.  Along  one  side  he 
had  built  a  narrow  berth  of  rough  boards,  covered  with 
army  blankets,  whereon  he  slept.  At  one  end  there  was  a 
large  fireplace  dug  into  the  hillside,  with  an  opening  above 
for  the  escape  of  the  smoke.  A  rude  table  and  a  couple  of 
camp-stools  composed  his  furniture.  Here  he  had  lived 
for  many  years,  and  strange  stones  were  in  circulation 
among  our  people  as  to  the  secret  of  his  thus  being  con 
tent  to  dwell  away  from  civilization. 

In  appearance  he  was  attractively  comical.  Short  and 
thin  and  misshapen,  he  yet  im-pressed  one  as  possessed  of 
wonderful  nerve  and  agility.  In  fact,  few  of  our  young 
men  could  outrun  him  or  match  him  in  strength.  His 
hair  was  long  and  curly,  falling  in  white  waves  upon  his 
neck.  He  wore  a  heavy  mustache  and  what  he  called  an 
"imperil/."  When  in  his  ordinary  gait,  he  advanced  by 
means  of  a  curious  springing  hop  which  invariably  sent 
our  younger  people  into  fits  of  laughter.  His  hands  were 
small  and  beautiful,  and  he  always  wore  gloves  upon  them. 
Of  their  whiteness  he  was  very  proud.  He  had  the  strange 


KIXD  FACE  AND  GRAY  COAT.  15 l 

habit  of  drawing  his  right  glove  off  and  putting  it  rapidly 
on  again  while  conversing. 

His  expression  of  face  was  the  most  singular  mixture  of 
grave  roguishness  and  real  kindliness  that  1  have  ever 
seen  upon  a  human  countenance.  The  wrinkles  about  his 
eyes  seemed  to  play  with  the  several  emotions  and  passions. 
There  was  something  exceedingly  attractive  in  his  smile, 
and  his  coming  among  us  was  always  the  signal  for 
boisterous  merriment.  Because  of  the  gentle,  humane 
expression  of  his  face  our  people  had  given  him  the  name 
"  Kind  Face."  They  had  given  him  also  a  place  in  their 
hearts,  and  always  reserved  for  him  the  warmest  corner 
around  our  camp-fires. 

It  is  the  greatest  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Indian 
does  not  appreciate  fun  and  humor.  It  would  be  hard  to 
find  a  spot  where  mirth  and  gladness  are  better  loved  than 
they  were  in  our  simple  cabins  and  upon  our  torch-lit 
play-ground.  The  Indian  is  quick  to  observe  the  play 
upon  words,  keen  in  his  enjoyment  of  a  skillful  repartee, 
and  alive  to  the  humorous  in  everything.  It  is  true  we 
do  not  exhibit  much  laughter  before  the  white  people,  but 
it  is  only  because  we  shrink  from  their  ridicule. 

One  evening,  as  dear  Wagh-ta  and  I  sat  in  my  aspen 
arbor,  the  cry  went  up  that  Kind  Face  was  hopping  toward 
us.  A  troop  of  children  ran  out  instantly  from  every  hut, 
to  go  forth  to  meet  him.  They  shouted  and  screamed 
and  laughed,  caught  up  handfuls  of  the  fresh  grass  and 
tossed  green  wreaths  of  it  into  the  air,  and  in  every  way 
attested  their  joy.  Kind  Face  saw  them  coming  and  his 
face  at  once  became  one  great  twinkle.  Onward  the 
screaming  company  swept,  and  just  before  they  reached 
him  he  dodged  suddenly  toward  one  side  and  started  in 
his  sidelong  canter  across  the  prairie  with  the  whole  noisy 
troop  at  his  heels.  He  made  great  show  of  endeavoring 


I32  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

to  elude  them,  of  being  captured  solely  by  their  superior 
speed  and  endurance,  and  of  being  led  much  against  his 
will  into  our  village.  We  watched  the  sport  with  the 
greatest  amusement,  and  the  faces  of  even  the  sternest 
warriors  relaxed  into  smiles  of  interest  and  pleasure. 

The  chase  thus  happily  consummated,  Kind  Face,  having 
greeted  us  all  heartily,  seated  himself  beside  the  fire  of 
pine-boughs  that  crackled  and  blazed  before  the  arbor. 
The  conversation  turned  upon  the  harvest  of  corn  our 
people  had  reason  to  expect,  the  growth  of  the  cattle,  the 
happiness  of  the  young  members  of  our  tribe,  and  kindred 
topics  of  wild  life.  While  thus  engaged  word  was  brought 
to  us  that  Gray  Coat  and  another  white  man  were  ap 
proaching,  and  we  had  just  time  to  flee  into  our  haughty 
pride — the  last  piteous  resort  the  white  man  has  left  us 
— before  they  were  with  us. 

"  Good-evening,  noble  Eagle  Wing,"  the  comfortable 
agent  said  to  my  father;  "  my  friend  here  is  anxious  to 
come  into  personal  contact  with  you  and  your  people  so 
as  to  learn  something  of  your  customs  and  manners  before 
returning  East.  And  1  may  venture  to  mention  that  it 
lies  in  his  power  to  benefit  your  tribe  largely,  munificently 
indeed,  if  it  should  be  his  most  excellent  pleasure  so  to 
do." 

"Ahem  !"  replied  the  white  man  to  whom  the  agent  had 
turned  with  a  pompous  wave  of  the  hand.  "  I  may  further 
say  that  I  have  the  honor  to  occupy  a  seat  in  our  National 
Congress,  as  senator  from  a  neighboring  State,  and,  most 
excellent  Eagle  Feather, — ah  !  thank  you ;  yes,  Eagle 
Wing,  to  be  sure, — I  may  remark  that  I  am  chairman  of 
a  committee  sent  out  for  the  express  purpose  of  examining, 
and  reporting  upon,  the  exact  condition  of  affairs  among 
our  Indian  wards." 

Wagh-ta  and  I,  to  whom  his  words  were  perfectly  under- 


KIXD   FACE   AND   GRAY  COAT.  133 

stood  without  an  interpreter,  were  not  a  little  amused  by 
his  grand  airs  and  swelling  manners. 

"Where  are  the  other  members  of  the  committee?" 
innocently  inquired  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe,  who  was  of 
our  number. 

"  Well — ah  !  to  tell  the  truth,  they  were  so  greatly  pleased 
by  the  entertainment  afforded  by  the  agent  that  they  were 
unable  to  tear  themselves  from  his  wine-decanter." 

"  Think  you  they  can  report  intelligently  of  the  Indian's 
necessities  and  wishes  by  inspecting  the  bottom  of  wine 
glasses  ?"  inquired  Kind  Face. 

The  senator  looked  down  at  the  little  Frenchman  as  if 
one  of  his  great  glances  were  certain  death  to  all  triflers, 
but  made  no  reply. 

Chairs  were  produced  for  the  visitors,  and  when  they 
were  seated  a  great  number  of  our  people  gathered  round 
to  hear  what  should  be  said. 

"  Ahem  !  tell  me,"  the  senator  demanded  with  a  majes 
tic  wave  of  his  hand,  "tell  me  without  reserve  what  your 
tribe  most  wishes  and  most  needs." 

"  The  protection  of  just  laws,"  my  father  answered. 

"  The  what !  Do  I  understand  you  ?  The  protection  of 
law  ?  Why,  who  disturbs  you  ?  Does  not  the  agent 
defend  you  ?" 

"Any  one  may  rob  us  who  wills.  My  child  may  be 
murdered  and  I  cannot  have  the  offender  punished !" 

•  It  is  true,  ahem  !  that  our  Indian  policy  is  as  yet  im 
perfect,  and  some  cases  of  violence  may  escape  their  pro 
per  punishment.  I  have  heard  rumors  that  this  is  the 
case,  but  have  had  no  direct  testimony  of  the  fact." 

Our  good  Kind  Face  was  always  strong  in  our  defense, 
and  while  the  senator  had  been  speaking  I  had  noticed 
that  his  right  glove  was  coming  off  and  being  thrust  on 
with  uncommon  vehemence.  This  was  the  usual  signal 
of  combat  with  him,  and  at  this  point  he  exclaimed  : 


134  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"Any  Indian  can  give  you  cases.  The  official  reports 
of  the  agents  are  full  of  them.  Just  a  few  months  since  a 
member  of  this  tribe  was  hired  by  a  white  man  to  chop 
wood  for  him  in  a  secluded  spot  within  a  forest.  The 
Indian  was  an  honest,  hard-working  fellow,  and  we  all 
respected  him.  As  he  did  not  return  at  the  time  expected, 
I  went  with  a  few  of  his  friends  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
his  delay.  We  found  the  poor  fellow  lying  across  the  log 
he  had  been  splitting,  his  heart  pierced  by  a  rifle-ball.  It 
was  winter  and  there  was  snow  upon  the  ground,  so  that 
we  could  track  the  murderer  from  the  cover  where  he 
had  done  the  stealthy  deed  to  his  home.  We  endeavored 
to  have  him  punished — we  tried  to  have  him  indicted  as 
a  disturber  of  the  peace,  if  nothing  more — but,  according 
to  the  most  wise  statute  of  your  government,  "  No  Indian 
can  sue,  or  be  sued,  or  form  a  party  to  any  suit  in  a  United 
States  court,"  and  we  failed.  That  murderer  is  boldly 
living  to-day  within  a  day's  ride  of  us,  and  there  is  no  law 
by  which  he  can  be  punished." 

'  Be  calm,  my  friend,"  the  senator  complacently  said, 
"  You  seem  to  be  a  man  of  sense,  and  as  you  can  under 
stand  me,  and  speak  to  me,  in  English,  I  do  not  object  to 
having  a  few  words  with  you.  It  is  true  that  the  ward- 
policy,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  of  our  government  is  liable  to 
the  abuse  you  mention.  But  I  fancy  the  Indians  would 
not  be  better  off  if  they  were  placed  under  the  protection 
of  the  law  and  forced  to  support  themselves.  The  Indian 
is  lazy  and  indifferent — I  can  speak  unreservedly  since  I 
speak  in  general  terms — and  is  constitutionally  opposed  to 
self-support." 

'•  Pardon  me,"  Kind  Face  replied,  as  the  glove  came  off 
with  a  jerk,  "  you  are  either  ignorant  or  grossly  misin 
formed." 

"  I  am  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  condition  of  our 


K1XD  FACE  AND   GRAY  COAT.  135 

Indian  tribes,  as  I  am  chairman  of  the  committee  I  have 
mentioned,"  the  senator  haughtily  replied,  tipping  back 
ward  in  his  chair. 

"  You  must  know,  then,  that  out  of  275,000  Indians  in  this 
country,  157,000 — more  than  half — wear  citizens'  gar 
ments.  You  must  know  that  there  are  219  churches 
among  the  tribes,  with  an  aggregate  membership  of  30,000. 
You  must  know  that  of  the  70  tribes  mentioned  in  a 
recent  official  report,  22  are  stated  to  be  entirely  self-sup 
porting.  You  must  know  that  of  the  remaining  48  tribes, 
44  are  reported  by  the  agents  as  able  and  desirous  to  sup 
port  themselves  if  the  government  would  only  grant  them 
the  high  privilege.  Out  of  70  tribes,  therefore,  there  are 
only  4,  according  to  the  testimony  of  your  own  official 
records,  which  are  not  abundantly  prepared  for  self-sup 
port." 

"I  speak  on  general  principles,"  grandly  said  the  sena 
tor. 

"So  do  I,"  returned  Kind  Face  with  warmth.  "You 
must  knpw  that  the  Omahas,  numbering  about  1 100  per 
sons,  cultivate  their  farms  with  singular  fidelity  ;  the  beau 
tiful  slopes  of  their  reservation  are  crowned  with  comfort 
able  frame  dwellings,  and  the  few  tepees  you  still  see  in 
the  valleys  would  speedily  be  displaced  by  houses  if  the 
Indians  had  any  assurance  that  they  will  be  allowed  to 
remain  where  they  are.  The  Winnebagoes  are  better 
farmers  than  some  of  the  surrounding  whites,  and  have  a 
large  sum  in  the  hands  of  the  government  in  the  form  of 
a  loan,  as  they  think,  the  interest  on  which,  however,  they 
can  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  obtain.  This  tribe, 
by  frugality  and  thrift,  has  become  wealthy  in  spite  of  the 
greatest  obstacles  any  community  of  people  has  ever  been 
obliged  to  contend  with.  Years  ago  they  resided  in 
another  State.  They  had  their  farms  nicely  cultivated, 


I36  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

and  their  stock,  of  all  descriptions,  was  numbered  by  the 
hundred.  They  were  happy,  peaceful,  wealthy.  But  by 
order  of  the  government  they  were  taken  to  St.  Louis, 
thence  transported  on  flat-boats  up  the  Missouri  to  a  most 
barren  spot  in  Dakota,  where,  among  the  sand-hills,  with 
out  shelter  or  implements,  they  were  left  to  their  fate. 
The  government  agents  promised  to  drive  their  stock 
overland  from  their  old  home  to  the  new  reservation,  but 
to  this  day  they  have  not  seen  a  single  head  coming  to 
them  over  the  hills.  After  surveying  the  sand-hills,  and 
becoming  convinced  that  no  support  could  be  wrested 
from  them,  they  worked  their  way  down  into  Nebraska, 
and  having  transformed  a  region  of  wild  soil  into  farms  it 
was  confirmed  to  them  as  a  reservation.  And  now  in 
your  senatorial  wisdom  you  are  threatening  another  base 
robbery  of  them  by  means  of  a  removal  to  the  Indian  Ter 
ritory.  And  look  around  you.  As  you  came  up  I  was 
talking  with  this  industrious  people  as  to  the  harvests 
they  expect  to  gather.  They  have  nearly  1000  acres  under 
cultivation  ;  they  count  their  cattle  by  the  score.  Many 
of  these  young  people  can  read  and  speak  the  English 
language  far  better  than  I  can. 

"  In  addition  to  all  this,"  continued  Kind  Face,  taking 
a  pamphlet  from  his  pocket,  "  I  will  cite,  with  your  per 
mission,  the  words  of  the  agents  themselves  in  respect  to 
the  good  character  of  the  Indians."  He  then  read  as 
follows : 

" '  The  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  Indians  are  naturally 
honest  and  scrupulously  conscientious  in  keeping  their 
word,  and  expect  the  same  scrupulous  exactness  in  the 
fulfillment  of  all  engagements  made  to  them,  especially 
by  the  government. 

"  '  G.  W.  LEE,  Mackinaw,  Mich.,  1877.' 


KIXD  FACE  AND   GRAY   COAT.  137 

"'  Less  crimes  have  been  committed  by  them  the  past 
year  than  by  the  same  number  of  whites.  I  have  not 
known  a  drunken  Indian  upon  the  agency  during  the 

year. 

'"J.  H.  WILBUR,  Yakama  Agency,  W.  T.,  1877.' 

'"I  believe  it  can  be  shown  that  no  Indian  tribe  in 
which  education  and  Christianity  have  been  introduced 
have  given  our  government  any  trouble  by  war. 

"  '  R.  II.  MILROY,  Agent,  W.  T.,  1877.' 

"  '  The  Sabbath  is  generally  regarded  by  them  as  a  day 
of  rest,  and  more  strictly  observed  as  such  than  by  the 
white  settlers  in  the  frontier  towns.  No  intoxicating 
liquors  are  used  by  the  Indians  on  the  reserve. 

" '  E.  H.  C.  HOOPER,  Sisseton  Agency,  Dakota,  1878.' 

"'Considering  their  location,  it  has  been  a  subject  of 
remark  that  no  crimes  have  been  committed  by  them 
against  the  whites  or  among  themselves  for  the  last  three 
years. 

"•THOMAS  S.  FREE,  Sac  and  Fox  Agency,  Iowa,  1878.' 

"  '  Situated  as  they  are,  in  a  flourishing  farming  commu 
nity,  they  have  become  well  informed  regarding  their 
relations  to  the  whites,  and  have  been  very  peaceable  and 
quiet.  No  crimes  have  been  committed,  while  they  have 
advanced  in  the  knowledge  and  disposition  to  labor,  and 
have  made  many  friends.  Nearly  all  of  the  able-bodied 
men  have  been  employed  during  harvest,  receiving  good 
wages,  and  make  good  laborers. 

"•THOMAS  S.  FREE,  Sac  and  Fox  Agency,  Iowa,  1878.' 

" '  The  Santees  are  nearly  all  professors  of  religion. 
There  are  six  places  for  worship,  which  are  generally 
attended  on  First  day. 

"•ISAIAH  LIGHTNER,  Santee  Agency,  Neb.,  1878.' 


13s  PLOUGHED  UNDER, 

"  '  They  say  that  they  have  been  faithful  on  their  part 
in  complying  with  their  promises  and  obligations  to  the 
government,  and  intend  to  continue  to  be  so ;  and  they 
ask  a  reciprocal  compliance  on  the  part  of  the  government 
with  its  promises  and  treaties  with  them.  They  are  often 
disturbed  by  rumors  and  probabilities  of  changes,  either 
of  their  homes  or  their  management,  and  they  feel  that 
either  would  be  great  injustice,  especially  without  their 
free  and  unenforced  consent.  They  are  quick  to  discrim 
inate  between  justice  and  injustice,  and  they  say  they 
want  to  live  in  undisturbed  peace  on  their  own  rightful 
possessions,  and  in  friendship  with  their  white  neighbors; 
which  is  certainly  asking  no  more  than  a  generous  and 
just  humanity  would  accord  to  them. 

"'JACOB  VORE,  Omaha  Agency,  Neb.,  1878.'  " 

"  I  must  insist  that  I  speak  generally  when  I  say  that 
the  Indian  character  is  worthless,"  responded  the  senator. 

"  Let  us  broaden  our  survey,  then.  One  of  the  ablest 
presidents  the  Mexican  Republic  has  ever  had  was  a  full- 
blood  Indian.  It  was  under  his  far-sighted  statesmanship 
that  Mexico  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Rome  which  had  been 
weighing  her  people  down  in  ignorance,  superstition,  and 
vice  ever  since  Cortez  subjugated  their  ancestors.  Thus 
an  Indian  is  the  combined  Washington  and  Luther  of 
Mexico,  and  I  say,  All  honor  to  him  !  To  go  a  little  far 
ther  back,  the  history  of  Tennessee  is  most  suggestive. 
The  first  party  which  in  the  old  days,  before  the  Revolu 
tion,  fought  as  a  party  for  the  liberty  of  the  United  States, 
being  worsted  in  their  untimely  attempts,  fled  to  the  wil 
derness,  were  cordially  received  by  the  Cherokees,  and 
from  them  obtained  the  tract  of  land  which  now  blooms 
as  Tennessee.  To  go  still  farther  back  :  when  the  elo 
quent  young  clergyman,  Roger  Williams,  was  driven  out 


KIND  FACE  AND   GRAY  COAT.  139 

of  Plymouth  Colony  because  he  had  forecast  the  religious 
freedom  for  which  'this  nation  is  now  distinguished,  who 
received  him  with  open  arms?  All  the  world  knows  it 
was  Canonicus,  the  celebrated  Narragansett  chief,  who, 
with  a  charity  as  pure  as  the  new-fallen  snow  over  which 
the  young  clergyman  fled  to  him,  bade  him  welcome  to 
his  wigwams  and  council-fires.  Thus  an  Indian  gave  the 
first  countenance  and  afforded  the  first  harbor  to  the  idea 
of  religious  toleration  in  the  United  States!" 

"  I  fail  to  see  how  all  this  affects  the  working  of  the 
committee  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  chairman." 

"  I  thought  you  demanded  that  I  should  show  you,  on 
general  principles,  that  the  Indian  character  is  not  utterly 
worthless.  Similar  facts  of  a  far  more  convincing  char 
acter  are  to  be  found  nearer  home.  So  far  back  as  1839 
the  Osages  showed  their  great  desire  for  civilization  by 
requesting  agricultural  implements,  and  by  special  treaty 
they  were  promised  them;  but  in  1870  the  government 
by  a  public  statute  acknowledged  that  it  had  disregarded 
the  treaty  for  thirty-one  years,  and  appropriated  $20,000 
to  repair  the  loss.  In  1868  the  Sioux,  supposed  to  be 
the  most  untamable  of  all  our  tribes,  demanded  that  a 
teacher  for  every  thirty  of  their  children,  and  missionaries 
to.teach  them  of  The  Book,  should  be  sent  among  them. 
Spotted  Tail,  who  is  held  up  as  the  "  chief  of  red  devils" 
by  our  public  prints,  said  recently  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior:  "I  want  God's  Word  taught  to  my  people.  I 
want  to  be  allowed  to  employ  honest  lawyers  to  plead  my 
cause."  This  same  bloodthirsty  savage  sent  word  down 
to  this  tribe  not  long  since  that  his  people  were  anxious 
to  learn  how  to  till  the  soil.  Twenty  of  our  young  men 
started  toward  his  home  to  give  his  people  instruction  in 
the  matter.  But  they  were  arrested  at  command  of  Gray 
Coat,  your  "agent,"  and  sent  back  in  disgrace  to  their 


14°  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

homes.  Thus  has  the  government,  through  its  agents, 
interfered  with  the  progress  the  Indians  are  anxious  to 
make  toward  civilization  and  self-support.  These  Indians 
before  you  were  compelled,  last  season,  to  cut  their  wheat 
with  butcher-knives  because  the  Indian  Department 
would  not  grant  them  reapers  and  thus  aid  them  toward 
self-support. 

"  Allow  me  to  refer  to  my  little  pamphlet  again  : 

" '  They  hear  of  Indians  at  other  agencies  receiving  them, 
and  they  are  constantly  asking  me,  "  Why  cannot  we  have 
them  ?"  And  when  I  urge  them  on  to  work,  their  reply  is  : 
"  How  can  we  work  without  anything  to  work  with  ? 
Give  us  what  we  need  and  you  will  see  what  we  can  do." 
" '  H.  E.  GREGORY,  Agent  Lower  Brule  Sioux,  1877.' 

"'There  have  been  no  agricultural  implements  here  in 
season  for  use,  except  two  old  ploughs. 

"'  GEO.  W.  FROST,  Crow  Agency,  Mont.,  1878.' 

"  '  It  is  the  avowed  policy  of  the  government  to  make  the 
Indians  self-supporting;  and  yet  I  am  left  without  the 
means  to  make  the  initiatory  steps  for  the  furtherance  of 
that  policy. 

'"  W.  V.  RINEHART,  Malheur  Agency,  Oregon,  1877.' 

" '  My  resignation  having  been  tendered  some  time  since, 
I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  say  that  while  I  have 
not  at  any  time  claimed  to  have  sought  or  accepted  an 
Indian  agency  for  motives  of  philanthropy,  I  did  wish  and 
believe  that  I  could  be  instrumental  in  doing  them  good. 
I  supposed  that  all  agencies  were  located  on  Indian  reser 
vations  ;  that  more  or  less  farming  was  done ;  that  there 
were  schools  connected  with  them,  and  all  reasonable 
effort  made  to  civilize,  educate,  and  Christianize  the 
Indian.  Instead  of  such  influences  and  opportunity  for 


K1XD  FACE  AND   GRAY  COAT.  141 

usefulness  I  found  my  agency  located  in  a  Mexican 
village,  more  than  fifty  miles  from  a  reservation  ;  and  the 
Indians,  when  visiting  the  agency,  exposed  to  all  the 
most  demoralizing  influences.  I  have,  of  course,  been 
disappointed  in  my  expectations. 
"  '  S.  A.  RUSSELL,  Abiquin  Agency,  New  Mex.,  1878.' " 

"  I  repeat  my  assertion  of  the  worthlessness  of  Indian 
character,"  said  the  senator  with  an  august  wave  of  the 
hand,  "and  I  further  remark  that,  by  his  love  of  blood 
shed  and  robbery,  the  red  man  has  forfeited  all  claim  to 
our  consideration." 

"That  the  Indians  are  in  many  instances  treacherous 
and  revengeful  I  do  not  deny,"  answered  Kind  Face. 
"But  that  they  are  worse  than  a  corresponding  number 
of  white  people  would  be,  under  similar  circumstances, 
I  am  far  from  admitting.  Let  a  certain  class  of  white 
men  be  treated  with  outrage,  perfidy,  robbery,  and  ridicule, 
for  a  long  succession  of  years;  let  them  grow  up  in  the 
knowledge  that  they  are  ground  down  by  a  stock  com 
pany  of  those  who  are  being  enriched  at  their  expense; 
let  them  see  their  holiest  affections  disregarded,  their 
dearest  relatives  murdered ;  let  them  live  in  constant 
dread  of  being  removed  by  a  brutal  and  murderous  com 
mand  to  the  Land  of  Fire,  which  is  literally  the  land  of 
Death — and  they  would  be  either  more  or  less  than 
human  if  they  did  not  resent  such  treatment.  The 
Swedes  are  a  patient  race,  and  the  Germans  are  slow  to 
take  offense;  but  how  long  do  you  imagine  either  class 
would  bear  to  have  the  nearest  Englishman  or  American 
enrich  himself  from  their  barn-yards  and  stores,  avail  him 
self  of  their  best  land  and  their  purest  daughters,  and  hide 
his  villainous  deeds  under  high-sounding  professions  of 
'  ward-policy '  and  senseless  sneers  as  to  Swedish  or 


142  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

German  worthlessness  ?  How  long,  think  you,  would  any 
class  of  white  people  bear  such  unjust  treatment  as  I  find 
written  down  in  my  little  pamphlet  ?  Another  case  or 
two  may  be  given  as  most  wholesome  reading  : 

"'A  party  of  Texans,  under  the  pretext  of  searching  for 
horses  stolen  from  them  by  the  Indians,  were  shown  by 
my  direction  through  the  Indian  camps;  but  they  were, 
as  they  say,  unable  to  find  any  of  their  horses.  The  next 
night  they  surrounded  the  weakest  camp,  fired  on  the 
Indians  (fortunately  without  effect),  and  drove  off  all  the 
horses  they  could  collect  (thirteen),  the  others  having 
scattered  during  the  firing.  This  raid  was  allowed  to  go 
unpunished. 

"'F.  C.  GODFREY,  Agent  Apaches,  New  Mex.,  1877.' 

"This  is  a  very  interesting  case,  as  there  is  much 
discussion  at  present  in  regard  to  the  cruelties  practiced 
by  the  New  Mexican  Indians  against  the  whites.  Who 
will  write  a  history  of  the  long  years  they  patiently  suffered 
before  resorting  to  arms  ?  But  here  is  another  point : 

"'It  is  not  the  fault  of  these  Indians  that  they  are  not 
to-day  self-supporting.  They  have  been  left  by  the 
paternal  government  without  a  home,  and  compelled  to 
become  wanderers,  by  being  driven  from  place  to  place, 
when  they  have  attempted  to  locate  and  cultivate  the 
soil.  They  have,  through  me,  been  for  almost  four  years 
begging  for  a  home — a  place  where  they  could  farm  and 
have  schools  for  their  children.  It  has  thus  far  been 
denied  them. 

'"S.  A.  RUSSELL,  Abiquin  Agency,  New  Mex.,  •1878.' 

"'The  state  of  disquiet  among  the  tribes  north  of  us 
has  not  been  participated  in  by  the  Klamaths.  They  have 
their  own  grievances,  which  are  serious,  and  a  great  deal 


K1XD  FACE   AXD   GRAY  COAT.  143 

of  patience  and  forbearance  on  their  part  is  shown.  They 
claim  that  "  there  are  lands  offered  for  sale  and  purchased 
and  occupied  by  white  settlers  which  in  reality  belong  by 
treaty  to  them,  and  it  is  injustice  to  deprive  them  of  these 
lands."  ' 

"'J.  H.  ROOCK,  Agent  Klamaths,  Oregon,  1877.' 

"  •  With  few  exceptions  they  are  a  quiet,  peaceable,  well- 
disposed  people.  Quarrels  and  contentions  among  them 
selves  are  infrequent,  and  not  a  single  instance  has  come 
to  my  knowledge  of  violence  or  crime  committed  by  them 
against  the  person  or  property  of  the  whites  settled  along 
the  borders  of  their  reservations,  or  even  against  the 
squatters,  who  knowingly,  and  in  defiance  of  all  rights  and 
justice  and  even  the  authorities  of  the  government,  have 
encroached  upon,  and  taken  possession  of,  their  most 
fertile  lands. 

'"J.  B.  ABBOTT,  Los  Pinos  Agency,  Col.,  1878.' 

"  '  Large  trespasses  have  been  committed,  from  year  to 
year,  upon  these  lands,  to  which  the  attention  of  the 
proper  officers  has  been  called;  but  still  the  work  of 
robbery  and  destruction  goes  on  unchecked. 

'"GEO.  W.  LEE,  Mackinaw  Agency,  Mich.,  1878.' 

" '  The  Indians  are  much  discouraged  by  these  raids,  and 
seem  to  think  too  little  effort  has  been  made  to  recover 
their  property. 

"'P.  B.  HUNT,  Kiowa  and  Comanche  Agency,  1878.' 

'"The  white  settlers  alluded  to  in  my  first  Annual 
Report  still  remain  on  the  reservation,  being  located  on 
their  several  claims,  increasing  their  stock  and  improve 
ments,  and,  of  course,  still  further  encroaching  on  the 
Indians'  rights. 
'"JAMES  I.  PATTEN,  Shoshone  Agency,  Wyoming  1878.' 


144  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

"And,  in  addition,  I  can  say  that  in  a  comparison  of 
Indian  cruelty  with  white  cruelty  the  shame  must  be  upon 
the  pale  cheek.  Save  in  dime  literature,  and  in  sensational 
falsehoods  for  the  columns  of  partisan  papers,  there  is  no 
recorded  case  of  Indian  massacre  which  will  outcolor  the 
cruelties  the  whites  have  frequently  practiced  against  the 
red  men.  Since  the  Pequot  Indians  were  starved  to  death 
on  Block  Island — the  white  men  having  stolen  away  their 
canoes — hardly  a  year  has  passed  without  a  scene  of  out 
rageous  cruelty,  in  which  the  Indians  are  the  victims. 
Just  a  few  years  since,  the  farmer  hired  by  the  govern 
ment  to  teach  the  Pawnees  how  to  till  the  soil  super 
intended  the  raising  of  a  large  amount  of  grain,  the 
Indians  doing'  most  of  the  work.  When  the  crop  was 
harvested  the  farmer  claimed  it  all  as  his  share  and  had  it 
secured  in  granaries.  Then  came  on  the  long,  cold 
winter  with  its  dreariness  and  hunger.  The  Indians, 
having  trusted  to  the  promise  of  the  farmer  that  they 
should  have  this  grain  for  support,  had  made  no  other 
provision  for  winter,  and  soon  were  literally  starving.  They 
went  to  the  farmer  and  begged  piteously  for  some  of  the 
corn  for  which  they  had  labored.  They  pointed  to  their 
starving  wives  and  children.  They  were  refused.  When 
in  the  extremity  of  their  distress  some  of  them  ventured 
to  go  to  the  granaries  to  take  a  little  of  the  corn,  the 
farmer,  standing  in  the  doorway  of  his  house,  coolly  shot 
them  down.  A  '  red  devil '  was  never  more  cruel  than 
that." 

"  They  might  have  applied  to  the  agent." 
"Truly;  but  the  winter  would  have  been  consumed 
waiting  for  your  National '  Circumlocution  Office  ' — known 
as  the  Indian  Department — to  take  action,  even  if  the 
agent  had  been  willing  to  intercede  for  them.  The  Utes 
waited  more  than  a  year  for  provisions  that  should  have 


KIND  FACE  AND  GRAY   COAT.  145 

been  sent  to  them,  and  the  country  knows  the  dread  result. 
The  agents  in  these  cases,  and  in  all  cases,  are  so  impeded 
by  the  regulations  of  the  Indian  Department  that  they 
cannot  act  upon  kindly  sentiments  toward  the  red  men, 
even  should  they  entertain  them.  It  is  a  public  statute,  I 
understand,  that  no  agent  shall  visit  Washington  to  inter 
cede  for  those  under  his  charge,  on  penalty  of  instant 
removal,  except  upon  special  invitation  of  the  Indian 
Department." 

"There  is  one  circumstance,"  the  senator  remarked, 
shifting  his  position  as  if  he  had  just  thought  of  a  way 
out  of  all  difficulty,  "  in  the  warfare  of  the  red  men  which 
has  always  had  the  effect  to  prejudice  my  own  mind,  and 
the  minds  of  many  of  the  chief  thinkers  of  the  country, 
against  them.  I  refer  to  the  cruel  practice  of  taking  scalps. 
Ugh  !  Ahem  !"  The  latter  exclamation  uttered  apolo 
getically  to  his  own  dignity. 

"  Even  in  this  particular,"  Kind  Face  replied,  "  the 
Indians  have  been  surpassed  by  the  white  men.  At  one 
time  the  most  Christian  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
offered  a  large  bounty  for  every  Indian  scalp  secured. 
And  when  they  were  not  forthcoming  in  sufficient  quanti 
ties,  the  bounty  was  sevenfold  increased.  And  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  this  bounty  was  offered  for  the  scalps  of 
women  and  children  as  well  as  men,  and  to  encourage 
the  cruel  practice  in  times  of  peace  as  well  as  war.  The 
Indians  with  all  their  cruelty  never  countenanced  a  worse 
barbarity  than  that.  There  are  many  other  cases  of  the 
same  character.  One  is  historic.  Soon  after  the  terrible 
massacre  in  Wyoming — " 

"  Ah  !  yes,  a  case  in  point  I" 

"  Soon  after  this  massacre,  which,  as  you  will  remember, 
was  instigated  and  conducted  by  the  white  men,  a  British 
general  stationed  at  Detroit  issued  a  proclamation  that 


I46  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

a  rich  bounty  would  be  paid  for  every  scalp  laid  at  his 
feet,  adding  significantly  that  no  reward  could  be 
expected  for  the  taking  of  prisoners  alive.  For  this 
infamous  transaction  the  Indians  well  called  him  'The 
hair-buying  general' !  In  each  of  the  English  appropria 
tion  bills  for  the  war  in  America  dated  from  1775  to  177& 
there  is  an  item  for  'scalping-knives.'  The  practice  of 
scalp-taking  has  not  been  as  distasteful  to  all  white  men 
as  it  is  to  you." 

"  You  are  so  evidently  a  partisan  in  this  matter,"  broke 
in  the  smooth  voice  of  the  comfortable  senator,  "that  it 
will  be  necessary  for  us  to  take  your  arguments  with  some 
allowance.  You  might  explain  to  us  whether  you  would 
wish  an  Indian  punished  at  all  or  not." 

"  I  would  have  an  offender  punished  whether  he  have 
a  white  or  a  red  skin.  I  honestly  believe  that  the  white  offi 
cials,  whoever  they  may  be,  who  are  responsible  for  the  mas 
sacre  of  the  Cheyennes  at  Fort  Robinson,  ought  to  be  hung 
as  much  as  any  common  murderer.  That  a  man,  or  a  few 
men,  cause  the  death  of  from  one  hundred  to  one  thousand 
persons  and  then  call  it  a  "  Policy"  seems  to  me  an  odd 
reason  that  they  should  go  free,  when  he  who  slays  one 
man  is  strung  up.  To  my  mind,  also,  they  who  insist  upon 
the  removal  of  northern  Indians  to  the  Indian  Territory, 
knowing  that  they  will  die  there  like  sheep,  are  simply 
murderers  and  cut-throats  in  wholesale.  In  the  report  of 
one  of  the  recent  Indian  Commissioners  I  have  found  these 
words:  •  Experience  has  shown  the  exceeding  impolicy  of 
removing  northern  Indians  to  the  Indian  Territory.'  He 
then  mentions  that  out  of  2376  Pawnees  removed  to  the 
Land  of  Fire,  800  died  in  two  years.  He  states  that  the 
same  death-ratio  prevails  among  Cheyennes  and  Poncas, 
and  remarks  that  this  simply  means  the  extinction  of  all 
northern  tribes  sent  to  that  latitude.  In  the  very  next 


KIXD  FACE  AND   GRAY  COAT.  14? 

sentence  after  these  bloody  details  are  given,  the  Commis 
sioner  coolly  says:  'In  this  connection  I  recommend  the 
removal  of  all  the  Indians  in  Colorado  and  Arizona  to  the 
Indian  Territory  ' !  To  my  unofficial  mind  that  seems  a 
simple  recommendation  that  some  20,000  persons  be  forth 
with  murdered  by  inches.  I  must  not  forget,  however, 
that  if  a  murder  is  called  a  '  Ward-policy '  it  is  not  a 
murder." 

"  You  certainly  must  have  intellect  sufficient  to  observe," 
said  the  senator  angrily,  "  that  a  government  has  the  right 
to  pursue  certain  policies,  even  though  they  be  attended 
with  some  loss  of  life,  when  the  ultimate  object  is  of  com 
manding  importance.  No  one  blames  the  general  for  the 
loss  of  life  when  liberty  or  honor  is  gained  by  the  battle." 

"  True,"  said  Kind  Face,  "  but  the  object  to  be  gained 
by  the  removal  of  the  Indians  is  simply  the  enriching  of 
the  whites  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reservations.  This 
is  the  very  grandest  aim  you  can  profess  to  have  in  view. 
In  too  many  instances  the  benefit  accrues  to  a  few  plotting 
individuals.  The  Indians  are  perfectly  aware  of  the  con 
dition  of  affairs.  They  are  conscious  of  being  the  victims 
in  a  great  gambling  system." 

"To  what  do  you  refer,  sir?  " 

"To  the  method  of  obtaining  appropriations  of  Con 
gress  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians,  upon  whom  the  good 
seldom  descends.  From  seven  to  nine  millions  of  dollars 
are  appropriated  yearly  for  the  Indian  tribes,  and  it  is 
quite  safe  to  say  that  not  more  than  three  millions  reach 
those  for  whom  the  money  was  designed.  Let  me  show 
you  a  case  before  your  very  eyes.  Just  beyond  this  line 
of  hills  there  lies  a  treacherous  swamp,  for  which  the 
Indian  children  have  a  singularly  expressive  name, 'The 
Eleven  Hundred  Dollar  Bridge.'  The  secret  of  the  name 
is  this :  Some  years  since  the  government  appropriated 


148  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

$1100  to  build  a  bridge  across  this  swamp  so  that  the 
children,  on  their  way  to  school,  should  not  get  their  feet 
wet  and  take  cold  in  the  bleak  •  weather.  The  money, 
however,  disappeared  in  some  one's  pocket ;  the  bridge 
was  never  built ;  and  the  children,  as  they  trudge  through 
the  swamp,  laugh  as  they  give  it  the  name  I  have  men 
tioned.  The  agents  among  some  of  the  tribes  receive  a 
salary  of  $1500,  but  in  many  cases  the  position  is  acknowS 
edged  by  all  concerned  to  be  worth  an  even  $10,000.  For 
the  removal  of  each  Indian  tribe  from  $25,000  to  $45,000 
are  appropriated,  the  great  bulk  of  which  disappears  in 
the  pockets  of  those  who  conduct  the  removal  and  their 
coadjutors.  A  dying  agent  recently  made  a  confession  to 
a  friend  of  mine  that  he  had  been  concerned  in  two  cases 
of  fraud,  while  he  had  witnessed  many  others.  The  cases 
in  respect  to  which  his  conscience  was  aroused  were  as 
follows  :  A  prominent  man,  now  residing  in  Omaha,  re 
ceived  $7000  for  ploughs  which  were  never  delivered  to  the 
indians  ;  and  a  merchant  in  the  same  city  was  awarded  a 
large  sum  of  money  for  the  breaking  up  of  a  certain  tract 
of  land  for  the  Indians,  when  in  fact  not  a  single  foot  of 
turf  had  been  overturned.  The  agent,  who  revealed  these 
facts  when  dying,  had  certified  to  the  vouchers  for  a 
monetary  consideration,  and  the  matter  lay  so  heavily 
upon  his  mind  that  he  disclosed  it." 

"  It  is  unavoidable,"  remarked  the  senator,  knitting  his 
brows  with  the  show  of  much  wisdom,  "  that  some  abuse 
of  contracts  should  occur  in  so  extensive  an  operation  as 
is  the  supply  of  the  tribes.  This,  however,  should  not  be 
laid  up  against  the  government  or  its  policy." 

"  So  far  is  robbery  from  being  incidental  to  the  con 
ducting  of  Indian  affairs,"  replied  the  sturdy  friend  of  our 
race,  "that  it  is  the  deliberate  purpose  of  many  who,  from 
official  position,  should  be  above  it.  I  happened  a  few 


KIND   PACK   AXD    CRAY   COAT.  149 

months  since  to  be  traveling  on  the  cars  iri  company  with 
a  number  of  wealthy  gentleman.  One  was  a  judge  from 
Montana,  another  was  from  Kentucky.  The  latter  gentle 
man  was  very  anxious  to  learn  from  the  former  just  how 
he  had  succeeded  in  making  so  much  money  out  of  an 
Indian  contract  the  preceding  summer.  The  judge  was 
exceedingly  communicative  and,  not  minding  in  the  least 
the  presence  of  a  deformed  Frenchman,  told  the  whole 
story  of  a  gigantic  robbery.  'You  see,'  he  said,  'there 
was  Mr.  A.  and  Mr.  B.  of  Iowa,  Mr.  C.  and  Senator  D.  of 
Illinois,  Senators  F.  and  G.  of  New  York,  and  myself,  in 
the  ring.  We  took  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  went 
to  Washington  and  made  Christmas  presents  of  two 
thousand  dollars  to  some  of  the  Congressmen.  Then  a 
bill  was  introduced  by  Senator  D.  of  Illinois,  appro 
priating  one  million  dollars  to  certain  of  the  Indian  tribes- 
it  was  of  course  passed,  for  nothing  can  be  more  noble  than 
our  care  of  our  red  wards — and  the  contracts  were  awarded 
to  us  who  stood  in  the  background  of  the  ring.  The  main 
condition  upon  which  we  received  the  contracts  was  that 
we  should  devote  $200,000  for  election  purposes  in  the 
State  of  Iowa.  We  bought  a  supply  of  guns  and  ammuni 
tion,  sent  them  out  to  our  Indians,  and  instructed  the 
agents  to  grant  permission  to  the  Indians  to  go  upon  a 
grand  buffalo-hunt.  They  remained  away  the  entire  sum 
mer,  and  consequently  we  had  to  furnish  no  provisions 
for  that  period.  We  reported  ten  thousand  Indians  upon 
one  reservation,  when  the  actual  number  was  about  one 
thousand,  and  in  all  other  cases  the  same  liberal  ratio  was 
carefully  observed.  Then  by  skillful  buying  of  damaged 
articles  for  a  very  low  price,  and  selling  the  same  to  the 
Indians  for  a  high  price,  we  were  able  to  get  through  the 
winter.  When  we  came  to  square  up  accounts  we  had 
about  an  even  §100,000  for  each  of  the  seven  members  of 


15°  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

the  ring.'  'But  how  did  you  manage  the  vouchers?' 
asked  the  uninformed  Kentuckian.  'Vouchers!'  ex 
claimed  the  judge  in  a  tone  of  the  highest  disgust. 
'  Our  agents  swore  to  them  and  our  Indian  Department 
audited  them.  What  more  would  you  want  ? '  While 
the  company  indulged  in  a  hearty  laugh  over  the  solving 
of  the  golden  riddle,  my  heart  was  sore  for  the  poor 
Indians." 

Kind  Face  paused  for  a  moment,  and,  the  white  men 
making  no  reply,  there  was  a  sad  silence  around  our 
twilight  camp-fire.  Kind  Face  was  gazing  thoughtfully 
into  the  distance  where  the  bluffs  beyond  the  great  river 
reared  themselves  into  the  sky. 

"  See ! "  he  exclaimed  at  length.  All  eyes  followed  the 
direction  of  his  pointing  finger.  "  Behold  that  little  speck, 
that  dark  spot,  far,  far  away  in  the  distance,  rising  slowly 
against  the  sky.  Watch  it ;  it  grows  somewhat  more  dis 
tinct;  it  is  a  slender  line  now  against  the  evening  sunset. 
Turn  your  attention  now  to  the  rocks  opposite  us  where, 
every  Indian  child  knows,  is  the  nest  of  a  brace  of  Wash 
ington  eagles.  By  their  keen  vision  they  have  long  since 
discovered  the  speck  and  the  line  we  have  noticed. 
Behold !  the  male  eagle  with  a  scream  springs  up  from 
the  nest,  soars  with  heavy  strokes  of  his  wings  into  the 
sky,  and  conceals  himself  at  a  great  height.  The  line  we 
have  noticed  comes  nearer  :  it  is  a  bird — a  snowy  brant — 
belated  in  its  return  from  the  uplands.  He  comes  with 
great  speed  toward  the  eagle's  nest.  See !  as  he  nears  it 
the  female  eagle  springs  up,  faces  him  in  his  flight  and 
stops  him  suddenly.  The  affrighted  brant,  startled  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  such  a  terrible  foe,  pauses,  wheels, 
circles  aloft,  trusting  to  his  strong,  lithe  wings  for  escape. 
And  he  would  elude  his  foe  but  that  the  male  eagle,  who 
has  been  watching  the  whole  proceeding  from  his  high 


KIND  FACE  AND   GRAY  COAT.  151 

station,  now  descends  like  a  thunderbolt  and  attacks  the 
brave  brant  from  above.  Oh  !  the  eagles'  eyes  are  fierce, 
their  claws  are  sharpened  against  many  a  pine-trunk,  their 
neck-feathers  rise  up  stiffly  with  savage  thirst  for  blood, 
their  screams  are  wild  and  exultant ;  and  the  poor  brant 
soon  pours  forth  his  warm  blood  to  tinge  his  snowy  breast. 
Most  noble  agent  and  senator,  in  this  aerial  combat,  so 
unequal,  so  unsought  by  the  victim,  so  unavoidably  san 
guine,  I  see  a  type  of  what  is  occurring  daily  in  the  con 
stant  struggle  between  the  white  and  the  red  races.  The 
poor  victims  in  this  larger  battle  simply  desire  to  be  left 
in  freedom  to  fly  unmolested  where  they  will,  to  haste 
from  their  fields  to  their  simple  homes.  In  plain  words, 
the  Indians  make  but  one  petition  of  the  Great  Father — 
that  they  may  have  the  protection  of  equitable  laws;  that 
their  wrongs  may  be  righted  and  robbery  prevented. 
"  Let  me  read  just  two  little  sentences  from  my  pamphlet : 

" '  Wish  well  to  the  Indians  as  we  may,  and  do  for  them 
what  we  will,  the  efforts  of  civil  agents,  teachers,  and  mis 
sionaries  are  like  the  struggles  of  drowning  men  weighted 
with  lead,  as  long  as  by  the  absence  of  law  Indian  society 
is  left  without  a  base. — Bishop  Hares  Report. 

" '  It  seems  to  me  to  be  an  odd  feature  of  our  judicial 
system  that  the  only  people  in  this  country  who  have  no 
rights  under  the  law  are  the  original  owners  of  the  soil. 
An  Irishman,  German,  Chinaman,  Turk  or  Tartar  will  be 
protected  in  life  and  property,  but  the  Indian  commands 
respect  for  his  rights  only  so  long  as  he  inspires  terror  for 
his  rifle.  GEN.  CROOK.'" 

"  By  Jove!"  said  the  senator,  "  it  must  be  dinner-time  ; 
I  was  almost  asleep." 

Without  another  word,  the  white  men  betook  themselves 
homeward. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE     BRIDAL    EVE. 

"  GOOD  evening,  young  invalid  !  You  seem  to  be  taking 
it  rather  easy  under  this  arbor,  while  your  lazy  brothers 
are  pretending  at  least  to  work  in  the  fields.  Have  you 
obtained  the  consent  of  my  father  to  lie  around  and  do 
nothing?" 

The  speaker  was  the  dreaded  Scar  Face,  who,  a  few 
days  after  the  events  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  sur 
prised  me  talking  with  my  little  bride  under  the  arbor 
that  my  father  had  built  for  me. 

"And  who  is  this  nursing  you?"  Scar  Face  continued. 

"She  is  Prairie  Flower,  sir,"  I  said,  "and  as  soon  as  I 
recover  from  my  wounds  she  is  to  be  my  wife." 

In  uttering  the  first  part  of  this  sentence  I  could  not 
prevent  my  lips  trembling  with  dread  and  anger;  but  I 
spoke  the  last  words  proudly,  and  yet  hastily,  that  he 
might  not  presume  that  she  was  nothing  to  me,  and  try 
to  win  her  away  from  my  side.  How  foolish  I  was  to  sup 
pose  that  he  would  respect  the  love  we  had  for  each  other, 
I  did  not  know  until  some  days  thereafter. 

"By  Jove!"  Scar  Face  said  brutally,  "  she  has  a  pretty 
face  and  a  neat  form  and  a — let's  see  your  foot,  miss  !" 

But  Prairie  Flower  did  not  move.  She  held  her  face 
down  upon  my  shoulder  and  blushed  irr  deep  shame  and 
indignation. 

With  a  coarse  laugh  Scar  Face  passed  on,  turning,  after 
he  had  taken  a  few  steps,  to  shake  his  finger  at  Prairie 
Flower  and  say,  "  I  will  see  you  again,  my  dear." 


THE  BRIDAL   EVE.  153 

Foi  aays  I  could  not  rid  my  mind  of  his  rough  and 
ribald  expression  of  face,  and  by  night  I  was  haunted  with 
a  fear  of  some  great  disaster  to  come  upon  my  bride.  I 
saw  his  scarred  countenance  in  everything  about  me,  and 
when  I  heard  a  sudden  noise  I  sprang  up  in  affright,  as  if 
it  were  the  scream  of  my  Prairie  Flower  struggling  in  his 
grasp.  But  as  he  came  not  again,  I  by  and  by  forgot  his 
insult,  and  began  to  hope  that  he  meditated  no  particular 
wrong  against  us. 

Meanwhile  the  days  as  they  came  saw  a  great  improve 
ment  in  my  strength,  and  before  many  had  passed  I  was 
able  to  walk  abroad  upon  the  prairies.  The  main  thought 
in  my  mind  was  my  approaching  marriage  with  Prairie 
Flower,  the  day  of  which  had  been  fixed.  The  wedding 
customs  of  my  people  were  very  simple,  the  service  be 
ginning  with  the  gathering  of  all  the  members  of  the 
tribe  to  a  feast  as  complete  as  we  had  means  to  prepare. 
But  if  this  feast  lacked  many  of  the  choicer  delicacies 
which  go  to  make  up  a  more  civilized  entertainment,  it 
more  than  supplied  the'  deficiency  by  furnishing  the  most 
abundant  quantity  of  good  will,  the  most  extravagant  joy, 
and  the  truest  happiness.  When  the  fire  leaped  up  before 
which  the  savory  antelope  ribs  were  to  be  roasted,  what 
delight  there  was!  How  the  faces  of  the  old  warriors 
would  relax  into  the  pleasantest  of  smiles  !  How  impor 
tant  and  busy  the  wives  were  as  they  bustled  hither  and 
thither  preparing  the  odorous  coffee  and  seeing  that  the 
maize-cakes  be  not  done  too  brown !  How  the  sweet  wild 
vegetables  tempted  us  to  attack  them,  and  how  fiercely 
we  accepted  the  challenge  when  all  was  ready!  How 
pleased  and  blushing  the  bride  would  be  when  she  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  rows  of  hungry  relatives  and 
friends,  prepared  to  do  full  honor  to  the  feast !'  And  if 
we  had  not  the  toasts  and  sentiments  of  the  entertain- 


154  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

ments  of  otner  races,  we  had  at  least  warm  expressions  of 
affection,  genuine  wishes  for  the  welfare  of  the  married 
couple,  admiration  without  hypocrisy,  and  friendship  with 
out  jealousy. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  feast,  generous  draughts 
were  taken  from  the  cool  waters  of  the  neighboring 
spring,  and,  the  company  composed  themselves  to  witness 
and  partake  in  the  remaining  ceremonies.  These  con 
sisted  in  the  giving  of  presents  by  the  bridegroom  to  the 
bride  and  her  parents,  the  accepting  of  the  bride  from  the 
arms  of  her  father,  and  the  triumphal  march  to  the  home 
where  the  wedded  couple  were  to  live.  There  were  also 
songs  and  dances  of  children,  and  trials  of  strength  or 
speed  upon  the  play-ground,  and  matches  between  the 
best  bowmen  of  the  tribe  to  see  which  could  shoot  arrow 
after  arrow  into  the  sky  and  have  the  largest  number  in 
the  air  at  any  one  time,  the  playing  of  pranks  upon  sly 
lovers  whose  turn  to  be  married  would  next  come,  the 
wreathing  of  wild  flowers  and  divers  colored  grasses  into 
fantastic  shapes,  and  such  other  spontaneous  expressions 
of  delight  as  a  simple-hearted  people  love  on  a  holiday 
to  make. 

There  was  another  custom  among  us  which  could  by 
no  means  be  disregarded.  The  bridegroom  on  the  day 
before  the  wedding  was  required  to  gather  a  large  quantity 
of  the  most  beautiful  wild  roses,  with  which  to  adorn  the 
bride.  When  the  day  before  the  one  set  for  our  wedding 
had  arrived,  I  started  out,  in  obedience  to  this  custom,  to 
gather  flowers,  which,  for  beauty  and  fragrance,  were  to 
exceed  anything  my  people  had  ever  seen  before ;  for,  I 
said  to  myself,  only  such  flowers  could  possibly  be  allowed 
to  twine  around  my  Prairie  Flower's  neck  and  rest  upon 
her  bosom.  The  morning  was  of  that  radiant  brightness 
which  dawns  only,  it  seems  to  me,  on  wide  stretches  of 


THE  BRIDAL  EVE.  155 

prairie  in  high  altitudes.  The  hills  in  the  distance  were 
just  of  sufficient  height  to  vary  the  scene  delightfully  and 
to  impress  upon  one  the  real  loveliness  of  the  grassy  plain 
at  his  feet.  With  high  hopes  and  bounding  pulse  I  started 
out  in  my  search,  in  full  sympathy  with  all  the  happiness 
and  beauty  around  me.  Was  not  the  next  sun  to  see  me 
wedded  to  my  sweet  bride?  What  then  could  bring  me 
sadness?  With  her  by  my  side  I  could  be  happy  in  any, 
the  most  fearful,  calamities,  I  was  sure.  Do  not  these 
dear  doves,  that  fly  with  whistling  wings  above  me,  get 
under  the  heavy  pine  fringes  when  it  storms,  and  coo  and 
love  as  happily  as  if  no  rain  were  pelting  to  the  earth  and 
no  thunders  were  raging  in  the  sky?  Oh,  if  but  my 
bride  and  I  can  remain  together,  even  the  white  man  can 
not  bring  a  woe  upon  us  that  we  could  not  patiently 
bear. 

But  then  the  thought  would  come  to  me,  \Vhat  if  my 
bride  be  wrested  from  me?  What  if  Scar  Face  plots  al 
ready  to  have  her  for  his  own  base  use  ?  The  thought 
maddened  me,  but  the  day  was  so  fair,  and  my  heart  so 
light,  that  I  laughed  off  my  fears  and  continued  my 
search. 

Nowhere,  however,  could  I  find  roses  sweet  or  beautiful 
enough  for  my  Prairie  Flower.  Every  bush  that  I  saw  I 
eagerly  examined ;  but,  although  there  were  many  deli 
cately  tinted  flowers  full  worthy  to  adorn  a  less  shapely 
neck  than  hers,  there  was  none  that  would  not  blush  to  a 
deeper  red  if  placed  near  the  cheek  of  my  bride.  I  hunted 
every  little  defile  where  before  I  had  thought  the  roses 
beautiful,  but  they  all  seemed  to  have  faded  since  I  saw 
them  last,  and  I  wondered  that  I  had  for'  a  moment 
thought  them  worthy  of  her,  So  the  day  passed  and  the 
evening  began  to  comedown  upon  me,  and  I  realized  that 
I  must  soon  make  a  choice.  Then  I  regretted  that  I  had 


IS6  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

not  plucked  such  or  such  a  flower  that  I  had  hesitated 
over.  Hastily  gathering  my  scarf  full  of  those  which  were 
nearest  at  hand,  I  thought,  "  It  is  just  as  well :  she  would 
outshine  the  most  beautiful  rose  that  the  sun  and  earth 
ever  bore,  and  these  that  I  have  found,  being  of  inferior 
shape  and  odor,  will  but  make  her  superiority  the  more 
marked  and  her  triumph  surer." 

Comforted  by  these  thoughts,  I  hurried  back  to  our 
village,  which  I  reached  just  at  dusk.  Filled  with  my  own 
bright  thoughts,  I  did  not  notice  that  the  first  group  of 
my  people  that  I  met  looked  pityingly  upon  me.  I  met 
another  group,  but  when  they  saw  me  they  whispered  to 
gether  and  walked  another  way,  so  as  not  to  encounter 
me.  A  third  group  I  smiled  upon,  but  they  turned  their 
faces  away.  "  What  is  this  ?"  I  thought :  "  surely  the  people 
mean  no  insult  to  the  son  of  Eagle  Wing.  Oh,  I  have  it 
now  :  they  do  not  wish  to  disturb  me  in  my  joy." 

I  soon  saw  one  of  the  maidens  of  our  tribe  coming  to 
ward  me.  We  called  her  "Swallow,"  and  I  knew  that 
she  loved  me  and  thought  hard  of  Prairie  Flower  that  I 
had  not  chosen  herself  to  be  my  bride.  Her  face  was 
sad  and  tearful  this  evening,  and  as  she  came  toward  me 
I  determined  to  soothe  her  hard  feelings  against  us  by 
showing  her  the  roses  I  had  gathered  for  my  bride.  I 
did  not  then  know  how  hateful  the  finery  and  possessions 
of  one  woman  appear  in  the  eyes  of  her  rival,  particularly 
when  they  are  the  gift  of  the  one  they  both  love. 

"  See  !  dear  little  Swallow,"  I  exclaimed,  "see  the  roses 
I  have  gathered  for  my  bride.  Are  they  not  lovely? 
Come,  now — tell  me  if  Prairie  Flower  will  not  be  the 
sweetest  rose  of  all  the  cluster?" 

The  little  maiden  would  not  cast  a  single  look  upon  the 
flowers,  but  turned  her  eyes,  full  of  tears,  up  to  my  very 
face,  and  said : 


THE   BRIDAL  EVE.  157 

"Alas  for  thee  !    Alas  for  thee,  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha !" 

"  What  is  it,  Swallow?"  I  exclaimed.  "  Can  you  not  for 
give  me  that  I  love  Prairie  Flower — or  has  some  calamity 
befallen  me?  Oh!  it  may  be  that.  Tell  me,  is  Prairie 
Flower  safe?" 

"  I  love  thee  too  much  to  tell  thee.  Go  to  Eagle  Wing, 
go  to  thy  father !  But  thou  mayst  as  well  drop  thy  roses 
here!" 

I  let  them  fall  at  her  feet  and  dashed  swiftly  away. 
Little  Swallow  seated  herself  amidst  the  scattered  flowers 
and  wept  aloud  that  they  had  not  been  gathered  for  her. 

My  father  was  standing  with  folded  arms  at  the  door  of 
our  home  when  I  came  up. 

"  What  is  it,  my  father?"  I  exclaimed.  "Why  do  the 
people  turn  their  faces  away  from  me  as  I  pass  ?  Why 
does  little  Swallow  send  me  hastily  to  thee  for  tidings? 
Is  my  Prairie  Flower  safe?" 

"  My  son,"  he  replied,  turning  upon  me  a  look  of  the 
greatest  sympathy,  "thy  time  for  suffering  has  come. 
Hold  thyself  proudly  under  it  as  becomes  the  son  of  a  chief.' 

"  But  is  Prairie  Flower  safe  ?"  I  demanded  impatiently. 

"  She  is  as  yet,  but  I  know  not  how  long  she  will  be." 

"  Thank  Wakanda !  the  worst  at  least  has  not  come.  Is 
she  at  her  home — is  she  sick?" 

"  Nay  to  both  questions.     This  afternoon  Scar  Face — " 

"  Oh  !  oh  !  oh  !"  I  broke  in,  "  has  that  beast  carried  out 
his  threat?  Has  he  stolen  her  away?" 

"  He  took  her  away.  I  know  not  where,  I  know  not 
for  what  purpose." 

"  I  know,"  I  said  bitterly.  "O  Wakanda!  why  could 
I  not  be  spared  this?  All  my  bright  hopes  thus  cast  in 
ruin  to  the  ground.  My  sweet  bride  torn  from  my  arms 
at  the  very  moment  when  she  was  to  be  fully  mine.  O 
Wakanda!  Wakanda!" 


158  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

I  threw  myself  upon  the  ground,  and  my  mother,  who 
had  stood  weeping  near,  came  and  held  my  head  in  her 
lap. 

"  Be  comforted,  my  child,"  she  whispered.  "  No  allure 
ments  of  the  white  man  can  ever  make  Prairie  Flower 
forget  thee,  and  if  her  heart  be  still  thine  no  wickedness 
that  she  may  endure  can  make  her  unworthy." 

"  But  she  will  suffer  so !  And  oh  !  mother,  I  cannot 
kill  him !" 

Anger  and  sorrow  combined  to  bring  tears  into  my  eyes, 
and  by  their  flow  I  was  calmed  though  not  comforted. 
O  mother,  mother !  how  I  think  of  thee  now  as  I  write 
and  bless  thy  tenderness  !  Howl  bring  back  thy  face  and 
touch  out  of  the  darkness  of  death  !  thy  warm  kiss  still 
lingers  upon  my  cheek;  thy  words  still  thrill  my  heart; 
thy  bending,  beaming  countenance  is  still  a  bright  sky,  a 
holy  heaven,  to  me.  Thou  wert  great  when  but  one  tear 
fell  upon  my  cheek  as  the  Sioux  thrust  their  cruel  arrows 
into  thy  side,  but  thou  wert  greater  and  more  motherly 
when  many  tears  of  sympathy  fell  from  thy  eyes  because 
the  white  man  had  stolen  away  my  bride.  O  mother ! 
earth  has  but  one  of  thee,  and  even  Heaven  cannot  supply 
thy  place  ! 

How  long  I  remained  thus  upon  the  ground  I  know 
not,  but  suddenly  the  thought  came  to  me  that  the  wise 
Standing  Elk  would  be  able  to  give  me  the  particulars  of 
the  stealing  of  my  bride ;  and  starting  wildly  up  I  was 
about  to  dash  away,  when  my  mother  caught  my  arm  and 
exclaimed : 

"Art  thou  mad,  my  son  ?  Stay  with  me  !  stay  with  me  ! 
Do  not  destroy  thyself,  for  Prairie  Flower  will  return  and 
will  weep  much  if  thou  art  not  here  to  welcome  her !" 

"  I  go  to  Um-pan-nez-zhe,  mother,"  I  said  with  forced 
calmness.  "  He  can  tell  me  all." 


THE  BRIDAL   EVE.  159 

The  night  had  now  come  on,  and  as  I  sped  madly,  reck 
lessly  toward  the  home  of  my  bride,  now  so  sadly  empty, 
I  blessed  the  darkness  which  hid  me  from  the  curious  gaze 
of  our  people.  1  could  see  around  the  camp-fires  groups 
of  happy  lovers  who  laughed  and  caressed  each  other  as 
if  my  laden,  beating  heart  were  not  nigh.  As  I  paused  a 
moment  before  such  a  sight,  which  by  cruel  contrast  gave 
me  a  feeling  of  bitterness  strangely  sweet  to  my  heart,  I 
heard  a  soft  step  at  my  side,  and  little  Swallow  caught  my 
hand  in  hers  and  said  : 

"O  Wolf  Killer,  may  not  I  comfort  thce  one  little 
moment?  May  not  I  hold  thy  head  upon  my  breast  while 
a  star  twinkles  once  and  delude  myself  that  thou  art 
mine  ?" 

"  Swallow,  I  can  love  but  one !"  I  said,  and  dashed 
away.  I  did  not  hear  her  say  proudly  to  the  night : 

"  I  ivill  comfort  him — in  a  way  he  little  thinks  of!" 

I  did  not  see  her  steal  cautiously  through  our  village 
and  take  her  course  toward  the  splendid  home  of  Gray 
Coat,  our  agent. 

As  I  neared  the  home  of  the  wise  man  and  saw  it  so 
dark  and  lonely  I  slackened  my  pace,  feeling  almost  that 
I — even  I — had  no  right  to  interrupt  the  sacredness  of  a 
father's  grief.  I  crept  so  near  that  in  the  starlight  I  could 
see  the  old  man  pacing  backward  and  forward,  tearing 
at  his  long  gray  hair,  and  showing  every  possible 
sign  of  deep  grief.  He  moaned  and  wrung  his  hands, 
and  in  pity  for  him  I  half  forgot  to  grieve  myself.  At  last 
he  came  to  the  door  of  his  home  and  exclaimed  bitterly: 

"  Look  down,  ye  stars  !  and  see  the  deepest  grief  that 
even  Um-pan-nez-zhe  has  borne.  You  have  dropped  dew- 
tears  of  sympathy  upon  me  when  I  mourned  for  wife  and 
father  and  friend ;  but  these  all  died  nobly  and  with  no 
stain  upon  their  names.  But  now,  in  my  old  age,  my  last 


io  PLOUGHED   UNDER, 

comfort  and  joy  is  wrested  from  me  to  be  disgraced  and 
dishonored  by  the  cruel  Scar  Face.  O  Wakanda,  hast 
thou  lost  all  pity  for  the  red  men  ?  Hast  thou  forgotten 
us  in  our  simple  homes  and  turned  thy  thoughts  upon 
statelier  nations?  Nay!  I  know  that  cannot  be;  but 
why,  oh  why  are  the  Indians'  hands  so  cruelly  bound  ?  O 
my  little  Wagh-ta,  was  it  for  this  that  thou  wast  saved 
from  the  death  that  overwhelmed  thy  mother?  for  this 
that  I  have  tended  thee  so  long  and  lovingly?  for  this  my 
gray  hairs  have  been  preserved  in  many  perils  ?  I  saw 
thy  mother  in  thee;  in  thy  ruin  thy  mother  dies  the 
second  time !  O  my  Flower,  my  Flower,  torn  from  thy 
old  father's  arms  and  from  those  of  thy  husband,  who 
shall  bring  comfort  to  us  now?  And  I  could  not  dash 
the  foul  villain  to  the  earth  !  This  arm,  trained  to  defend 
thee,  trained  in  so  many  battles  to  strike  a  killing  blow, 
fell  limp  to  my  side  when  a  brutal  wretch  tore  thee  away  ! 
Ah  !  were  it  not  better  for  all  my  people  to  die  rather  than 
to  see  Prairie  Flower  disgraced?  But  no!  I  must  not 
cause  the  death  of  the  innocent.  O  white  man,  what  cruel 
bonds  you  bind  us  with  !  O  Prairie  Flower,  where  do  thy 
tears  fall  to-night  ?  O  Wakanda,  spare  thy  feeble  ones  !" 

When  I  could  stand  suspense  no  longer  I  rushed  for 
ward  and  cried : 

"  My  father,  what  is  this  terrible  fate  that  has  come 
upon  my  bride  ?  Speak !  I  can  stand  anything  rather  than 
uncertainty !" 

He  turned  upon  me  a  look  in  which  sympathy  appeared 
struggling  with  woe.  And  it  triumphed,  for  with  a  great 
effort  of  will  he  subdued  his  moans,  and  becoming  wonder 
fully — almost  fiercely — calm,  he  said  to  me  in  a  steady 
voice : 

"  My  son,  it  may  not  be  so  bad  with  little  Prairie  Flower 
as  I  fear.  Perhaps  my  sad  experiences  with  the  white 


THE  BRIDAL  EVE.  161 

men  have  made  me  too  suspicious,  and  what  may  be  but 
a  temporary  absence  I  .have  magnified  into  a  permanent 
loss.  Scar  Face — " 

"Curses  upon  him  !"  I  could  not  help  exclaiming. 

"Came  shortly  after  noon  to-day,  saying  that  his  mother 
had  commissioned  him  to  select  a  waiting-maid  for  her 
from  the  most  beautiful  of  our  maidens.  He  had  examined, 
he  added,  with  a  wicked  leer,  all  that  could  lay  any  just 
claim  to  the  title,  without  being  satisfied,  and  as  he  had 
seen  my  daughter  once  before,  he  requested  that  he  might 
be  honored  with  a  sight  of  her  again.  I  tried  to  excuse 
her  on  the  plea  that  she  was  not  well,  but  he  demanded 
— yes,  demanded — that  she  should  instantly  appear  before 
him.  My  fatherly  love  sprang  into  my  arm,  and  for  a 
moment  I  clinched  my  fist,  half  intending  to  strike  him  to 
the  earth.  He  stepped  back  a  few  paces  and  drew  a  pistol 
from  an  inner  pocket  and  pointed  it  at  my  heart.  Oh! 
would  to  Wakanda  he  had  killed  me  on  the  spot !  But  he 
knew  that  he  must  not  stain  his  hands  with  murder,  and 
so  he  demanded,  with  curses,  that  Prairie  Flower  be  given 
to  him.  I  replied,  as  calmly  as  I  could  : 

'"  Scar  Face,  it  is  not  fear  of  thee  that  prompts  me  to 
obey  thy  devilish  command.  It  is  because  I  scorn  to  do 
a  wrong.  If  I  should  strike  thee  to  the  earth,  as  my  hate 
of  thee  and  love  of  my  child  prompt  me  to  do,  thou 
well  knowest  what  a  cruel  fate  I  should  bring  upon  the 
innocent  ones  in  my  tribe.  I  scorn  to  adopt  the  unholy 
selfishness  of  the  white  man.  Thou  dost  take  advantage 
of  this  unjust  law  which  treats  us  all  as  guilty  if  one 
offends,  and  for  a  short  time  thou  wilt  enjoy  thy  brutal 
triumph.  But  mark  the  words  of  an  old  man  :  in  no  race 
can  crime  prosper,  and  the  passion  which  now  leads  thee 
to  outrage  shall  of  itself  lead  thee  to  ruin.' 

"There  was  no   need  to  call  little  Wagh-ta,  for  the 


1 62  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

moment  she  had  seen  the  pistol  pointed  at  my  heart  she 
had  rushed  forth,  and  during  my  speech  to  Scar  Face  had 
clung  sobbing  to  my  breast.  I  saw  the  base  libertine's 
eyes  gleam  upon  her  in  insulting  admiration  of  her  charms ; 
I  saw  him  close  his  rough  hands  upon  her  shoulders ; 
I  felt  her  tender  arms  clinging  to  me  for  protection,  and  I, 
her  heaven -appointed  protector,  could  not  touch  the 
villain  with  my  finger.  I  heard  her  sob  as  he  tore  her 
away,  and  for  the  last  time — yes,  I  am  sure  for  the  last 
time — I  felt  her  soft  breath  upon  my  cheek.  Mark  me! 
Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha,  my  mind  is  old  and  has  attained  the 
prophet's  foresight.  I  can  feel  my  soul  snapping  like  a 
bow-string  too  tightly  drawn,  but  there  is  a  strange,  wild 
music  even  in  the  breaking  of  it.  I  see  that  a  great 
calamity  approaches  our  tribe.  A  dark,  a  fierce  cloud  comes 
sweeping  up  toward  us,  and  either  in  the  blackness  of  the 
ruin  it  shall  cast  upon  us,  or  before  it  comes,  I  shall  be 
separated  from  my  child  so  that  from  this  moment  I  shall 
never  see  her  again.  O  Wakanda  !  Wakanda  !" 

A  solemn  look  of  woe  passed  over  the  old  man's  face — 
the  holy  expression  that  all  the  prophets  of  my  people 
have — and  sinking  upon  the  ground  he  covered  his  face 
with  his  blanket  and  relapsed  into  silence. 

"  Which  way  went  they,  my  father  ?"  I  exclaimed. 

But  his  ears  were  deaf  to  me  as  he  swayed  backward  and 
forward  in  his  hopeless  grief. 

"  Speak  to  me,  my  father  !  which  way  did  they  take  ?" 

Still  the  old  man  did  not  speak.  Gradually  he  sank 
back  upon  the  ground.  I  snatched  the  blanket  from 
before  his  face,  and  saw  that  his  eyes  were  glazing  and  his 
lips  gasping  for  breath.  He  started  up,  and  waving  his 
arm  with  majestic  grace,  said  with  a  rapt  smile : 

"Wife,  I  come!  My  noble  sons,  I  come!  Wakanda,  I 
come  !  Wagh-ta !  Prairie  Flower,  I — " 


THE  BRIDAL  EVE.  163 

He  sank  down  to  the  earth  again.  The  wind  in  the 
pine-tops  deepened  into  a  moan.  The  wise,  the  noble  Um- 
pan-nez-zhe  was  dead.  O  noble  legislators  and  governors  ! 

0  learned  debaters  and  lawyers !     O  proud  senators  and 
statesmen  !    O  most  honored  Great  Father  !    O  multitudes 
of  unthinking  people  !    heard  you  nothing  in  your  happy 
homes  that  night  like  the  snapping  of  a  heart?     As  you 
read  your  papers  next  morning  and  saw  the  demand  that 
this  or  that  Indian  tribe  be  exterminated  for  the  crimes  of 
a  few — without  which  demand  scarce  an   issue  can   be 
published — seemed  there  no  voice  in  the  air  whispering, 
"Unjust!  Unjust!  Unjust!"? 

I  left  the  dead  man  where  he  had  fallen,  and  stole  away 
into  the  darkness.  Clouds  had  gathered  under  the  stars 
and  were  rolling  up  blacker  and  blacker  from  the  southwest. 

1  felt  almost  calmed  as  I  walked  along.     A  strange  sense 
that  the  crime  of  Scar  Face  had  been  avenged  in  the  death 
of  Um-pan-nez-zhe  came  over  me,  so  confused  was  I  by  the 
thrilling  events  a  single  day  had  brought  about.    It  seemed 
to  me  that  the  glazed  eyes  and  white  lips  and  stiffening 
cheeks  of  the  wise  man  were  laying  up  a  mighty  claim 
against  the  white  men  in  some  sure  place  under  the  very 
eye  of  Wakanda,  and  that  by  and  by  our  whole  race  would 
be  benefited  because  of  what  we  were  suffering  now.     So 
I  began  to  pity  Scar  Face,  as  if  he  had  been  foiled  after 
all,  and  I  painted  to  myself  how  his  disfigured  countenance 
would  look,  covered  with  blood  and  gashed  deeper  than 
before,  lying  under  this  brush  or  beside  that  rock,  and  in 
the  thought  I  had  a  strange  delight. 

But  when  I  realized  that  the  bride  who  was  to  be  mine 
on  the  morrow  was  in  the  clutches  of  a  more  savage  brute 
than  the  wolf  could  ever  be,  I  ceased  to  pity  and  began 
again  to  hate  him.  I  called  upon  all  the  powers  of  the 
night  and  all  the  terrors  of  the  storm  to  blast  him.  If  any 


1 64  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

one  had  been  crouching  in  the  bushes  beside  which  I 
passed  and  could  have  heard  my  wild  ravings  and  seen  the 
fierce  hatred  upon  my  countenance,  he  would  have  supposed 
that  some  demon  had  escaped  from  the  place  of  his  con 
finement  and  was  wandering  up  and  down  the  earth.  I 
took  no  account  of  space,  and  though  I  impatiently  trod' 
upon  miles  of  daisy-spangled  sod,  I  was  as  unconscious  of 
changing  my  position  relative  to  what  was  below  and 
around  me  as  I  was  of  shifting  my  place  relative  to  the  star- 
spangled  sky  above  me. 

"Can  it  be,"  I  thought,  "that  this  is  the  very  prairie  I 
wandered  over,  and  these  the  very  valleys  I  explored,  only 
a  few  hours  since,  hoping  then  to  secure  roses  beautiful 
enough  to  be  allowed  to  adorn  my  bride?  How  different 
my  feelings  now!  Then  I  was  hopeful  and  happy;  now  I 
am  brideless  and  despairing !  Then  I  sought  flowers  to 
add  to  my  joy  ;  now  I  only  desire  to  hide  my  grief!  Then 
it  was  day  ;  now  it  is  night.  Has  ,the  darkness  come  so 
soon  to  swallow  up  the  sun-rays  ?  So  soon  also,  and  so 
completely,  has  the  night  of  heavy  woe  overtaken  me  and 
quenched  all  the  day  of  my  heart. 

"Is  it  because  we  are  poor,"  I  continued  to  think,  "that 
the  white  man  denies  us  the  protection  of  his  law  ?  But 
are  there  no  poor  ones  in  his  great  cities,  no  shriveled 
hearts  in  reeking  places,  no  despairing  wretches  dwelling 
in  dark,  damp  rooms,  no  souls  to  whom  day  brings  no 
light  and  night  no  repose,  no  orphans  longing  for  one 
touch  of  sympathy/and  no  childless  parents  weeping  that 
misery  and  want  have  robbed  them  of  sweet  smiles  and 
tender  kisses  ?  And  if  this  great  class  of  distressed  beings 
are  not  debarred  by  their  wretchedness  from  the  protec 
tion  of  just  and  equitable  laws,  why  should  we  be  ?  Or  is 
it  because  we  are  incapable  of  appreciating  the  white 


THE   BRIDAL   ETE.  165 

man's  civilization  ?  But  when  has  any  one  come  to  us 
with  charity  and  patience  who  has  not  been  welcomed  as 
a  brother  and  whose  instructions  have  not  benefited  us  ? 
When  have  we  had  an  honest  chance  to  become  as  the 
white  men,  since  so  many  of  those  sent  to  us  prey  upon 
our  substance  and  make  return  to  the  power  that  sends 
them  only  by  publishing  the  most  extravagant  falsehoods 
concerning  our  cruelty  and  laziness?  Are  we  not  cruel, 
then  ?  Yes,  in  war  with  each  other,  or  when  crazed  and 
maddened  by  being  driven  from  one  home  after  another 
and  suffering  insult,  robbery,  and  outrage  without  limit  at 
the  hands  of  the  white  man,  we  do  try  our  best  to  be  as 
cruel  as  he — though  we  are  not  cunning  enough  or  strong 
enough  to  succeed.  I  have  often  been  told  that  our  more 
favored  brethren  living  far  to  the  north  of  us,  in  a  country 
lying  out  of  the  Great  Father's  possessions,  are  fully  as 
intelligent  as  the  majority  of  the  white  people,  are  in 
many  instances  far  better  informed  than  they  upon  the 
leading  questions  of  the  day,  and  are  wealthy,  industrious, 
and  happy,  because  they  enjoy  the  priceless  benefits  of 
legal  protection  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  whites.  The 
guilty  are  punished ;  the  good  are  fostered  :  contentment 
and  prosperity  are  the  result. 

"  Is  it  because  there  are  too  many  people  on  the  earth 
that  the  white  man  thinks  himself  excused  in  destroying 
our  race  as  fast  as  possible  ?  But  would  not  Wakanda  be 
a  better  judge  of  the  number  that  the  world  He  has  formed 
is  capable  of  supporting?  And  how  can  the  white  man 
judge  whom  it  would  please  Him  most  to  see  destroyed  ? 
It  may  be  that  the  judgment  of  the  stronger  race  is  at 
fault  in  this  matter ;  that  He  loves  the  simple-hearted  and 
feeble  children  of  the  plains  as  much  as  he  does  those  who 
have  power  to  build  gigantic  cities  and  fill  them  with  huge 


1 66  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

rivalries  and  hypocrisies ;  and  if  this  be  the  case,  where 
comes  in  the  unquestionable  right  to  destroy  our  race  as 
being  the  one  which  by  all  means  should  perish  ?" 

These  thoughts,  though  not  in  any  connected  shape, 
passed  through  my  mind  as  I  rushed  frantically  along. 
They  were  present,  at  one  moment,  in  a  mass,  revolving, 
and  rolling,  and  boiling,  and  raging  there  as  if  they  had 
entered  into  a  special  conspiracy  to  drive  me  wild.  Then 
one  of  these  thoughts  would  take  complete  possession  of 
me,  chaining  me,  however,  with  not  the  less  rigor.  Images 
of  my  lost  Prairie  Flower  constantly  floated  before  my 
heated  fancy,  and  her  last  words,  coupled  with  her  sweet 
looks  and  winning  ways,  were  ever  present  to  my  heart. 
Oh !  she  was  so  much  to  me — can  I  believe  that  she  is 
gone  ?  Shall  I  never  again  feel  her  soft  breath  upon  my 
cheek?  I  began  to  think  I  had  attained  the  dead  Ufn-pan- 
nez-zhe's  prophetic  sight,  and,  gazing  into  the  darkness 
before  me,  I  seemed  to  read  that  the  sweet  Prairie  Flower 
should  never  be  mine  again. 

This  mood  alternated  with  one  whose  chief  desire  was 
revenge.  Why  should  I  tamely  weep  when  I  had  more 
than  strength  sufficient  to  strike  Scar  Face,  who  had 
brought  all  this  woe  upon  me,  to  the  earth  ?  Again  arid 
again  I  resolved,  as  I  walked  along,  to  kill  him.  But  at 
such  moments  the  solemn  voice  of  Um-pan-nez-zhe  came 
whispering  on  the  night  wind  to  me  : 

"  Bear  anything — bear  to  see  thy  wife  torn  from  thy 
arms — but  never  kill  the  white  man  !" 

And  these  words  seemed  the  more  solemn  and  sublime 
now  that  the  wise  man  was  dead.  Had  he  been  living  I 
know  I  should  have  rushed  back  to  the  mansion  of  Gray 
Coat,  sought  out  his  infamous  son,  and  killed  him  on  the 
spot.  But  the  noble  Um-pan-nez-zhe  is  dead,  and  his 
words  are  as  sacred  as  his  memory. 


THE  BRIDAL  EVK.  ™1 

Then  at  other  moments  I  would  think,  "  What  if  Prairie 
Flower  should  come  back  to  me  in  a  few  days — could  I 
love  her  as  I  had  done  ?"  At  first  I  almost  answered  "  No !" 
but  when  I  thought  how  helpless  and  innocent  she  was  I 
stopped,  looked  up  into  the  stars  which  were  now  peeping 
from  the  clouds,  and  resolutely  said  "  Yes !"  I  could  pic 
ture  her  as  she  would  come.  Oh,  how  sad  would  be  her 
beautiful  face  !  how  disgraced  would  she  seem  to  herself! 
how  timid  she  would  be  lest  I  should  not  receive  her  as 
of  old !  how  I  would  open  my  arms  to  her,  and  how  she 
would  weep  joyously  and  sadly  as  she  fell  into  them  ! 
When  I  thought  of  this  I  exclaimed  aloud  in  the  night : 

"  Come,  my  bride  !  my  Prairie  Flower  !  Here  is  a  heart 
that  will  never  do  thee  dishonor!  Here  is  a  breast  that 
will  always  be  warm  to  thee,  and  where  thou  mayst  ever 
find  rest !" 

Startled  at  the  sound  of  my  own  voice,  I  hurried  on 
faster  than  before.  What  was  my  surprise  when  I  came 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  upon  a  rude  fence  of  willow 
pales  stretching  directly  across  my  path  !  In  my  heedless 
wanderings  I  had  described  a  circle,  and  now  discovered 
that  I  had  reached  the  fence  that  enclosed  the  beautiful 
grove  where  stood  the  house  of  our  agent.  Something 
impelled  me  to  enter  the  enclosure.  The  mansion  that 
our  money  had  built  loomed  up  grimly  in  the  darkness 
before  me,  its  successive  stories  and  rows  of  windows  and 
high  porches  and  corniced  eaves  presenting  to  my  inex 
perienced  mind  the  most  complete  image  of  all  earthly 
magnificence  and  wealth.  I  approached  the  building  from 
the  side.  All  was  dark  about  it ;  neither  in  door  norwin- 
dow  did  the  least  sign  of  life  appear.  I  crouched  low  in 
the  underbrush,  some  of  which  was  still  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  grove,  and  crept  cautiously  toward  the  house. 
What  I  hoped  to  obtain  I  could  not  tell  distinctly  even  to 


1 68  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

myself,  yet  I  dimly  felt  that  it  would  be  a  relief  to  be  near 
my  bride  although  I  had  no  power  to  render  her  assist 
ance.  So  I  lingered  round  the  house.  In  the  barns  I 
could  hear  the  baying  of  the  savage  hounds  that  Gray 
Coat  kept  to  defend  his  premises  and  hunt  down  the 
unyielding  among  our  people ;  but  I  feared  not  their 
cruel  jaws;  to  die  so  near  to  her  would  have  been  an 
inexpressible  pleasure.  Round  and  round  the  house  I 
crept,  now  imagining  that  a  face  was  peering  out  from  this 
shutter  or  from  that  upon  me,  now  fancying  I  heard  a 
smothered  scream  as  of  some  one — my  bride,  perchance — 
in  deadly  fright.  I  wondered  which  window  hid  my 
Prairie  Flower  from  her  lover's  sight,  and  I  wept  to  think 
what  a  short  distance  there  was  between  her  falling  tears 
and  mine. 

By  and  by  I  grew  bolder  and  came  very  near  the  house, 
with  the  dim  hope  that  at  some  corner  I  should  hear  her 
whisper : 

"O  Wolf  Killer!  Wolf  Killer!  save  me!  Hold  wide 
spread  your  arms  and  I  will  spring  into  them  as  I  have 
often  done,  as  a  child,  from  some  fallen  log  or  crumbling 
boulder.  Here  I  am  !  Save  me !  Save  me !" 

But  no  such  voice  I  heard.  The  first  gray  streaks  of 
the  coming  day — that  was  to  have  been  my  wedding-day 
— now  began  to  appear  in  the  east.  The  twitter  of  the 
early  birds  resounded  through  the  grove.  I  heard  a  shut 
ter  open  in  a  distant  part  of  the  house.  Certain  I  was 
that  soon  I  should  be  apprehended  for  prowling  around 
the  premises  of  the  agent,  but  even  to  save  my  bones  from 
the  jaws  of  the  blood-hounds  I  could  not  flee.  Oh  !  another 
moment  might  place  my  bride  in  my  arms.  Or  she  might 
in  the  next  minute  need  me  so  much — and  what  if  I  were 
not  here  ?  For  a  time  I  seriously  thought  of  confronting 
the  agent  and  demanding  my  bride,  but  I  knew  such  a 


THE  BRIDAL  EVE.  169 

course  would  be  of  no  avail.     Oh  what  should  I  do !  what 
should  I  do ! 

While  I  was  gazing  thus  hopelessly  at  the  great  blank 
walls  I  felt  a  touch  upon  my  arm,  and  turning  I  met  the 
gaze  of  little  Swallow.  She  beckoned  me  to  follow  her, 
which  I  was  only  too  glad  to  do,  as  she  seemed  to  promise 
some  hope. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND    LUNACY. 

IT  was  well  that  the  little  maiden  had  come  lor  me,  for 
I  should  never  have  been  able  alone  to  find  my  way  out 
of  the  labyrinth  of  walks  and  drives,  flower  beds  and 
garden  plots,  terraced  lawns  and  shady  avenues,  with 
which  the  agent  had  adorned  his  luxuriant  home,  even  if 
I  had  found  in  my  heart  the  desire  to  leave  my  post  of 
observation  and  make  the  attempt.  But  Swallow  seemed 
to  know  so  well  what  paths  to  take  and  what  turns  to 
make,  that  I  followed  her  quite  assured  that  she  would 
lead  me  out  into  the  prairie  again,  where  I  should  be 
perfectly  at  home ;  but  what  was  far  more  encouraging, 
her  familiarity  with  the  surroundings  of  the  agent's  house, 
together  with  a  certain  importance  with  which  she  set 
each  little  foot  upon  the  ground,  seemed  to  promise  that 
she  had  some  revelation  to  make  in  regard  to  Prairie 
Flower. 

"Swallow,  dear  Swallow!"  I  said  after  we  had  walked 
some  little  distance,  "what  tidings  of  my  bride?  Will 
you  lead  me  to  her?" 

"Hush!"  she  replied  sharply;  "do  you  not  fear  the 
hounds  ?" 

As  she  spoke,  their  fierce  baying  broke  out  afresh,  and 
this  time  I  noticed  with  terror  that  the  sound  seemed 
much  louder,  as  if  the  animals  were  nearer  to  us  than 
before. 

"  But — "  I  began. 

"  Hush  !"  she  said. 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AXD   LUXACY.  171 

Down  along  the  fringes  of  a  spruce  hedge — around  a 
patch  of  sweet  corn — up  a  narrow  path  in  which  the  weeds 
were  growing  thick — crouching  a  moment  under  this 
vine-covered  arbor  while  the  milkman  passes  us  and 
makes  his  way  toward  the  house.  The  hounds  were  bay 
ing  fiercely. 

"Curses  on  the  brutes!  Shut  up  !"  the  milkman  said. 
"They  must  smell  Indian  blood.  Shut  up,  I  say  !" 

Hurrying  on  again — along  the  fence  of  an  enclosed 
pasture — past  the  stables,  in  which  the  horses  are  just 
noisily  rising  from  their  night's  sleep,  striking  their  hoofs 
against  the  sides  of  the  stalls — past  the  very  kennels  of 
the  hounds,  which  dash  against  their  chains  and  foam 
upon  us  madly — down  through  the  corn-lands,  breathing 
more  freely  now — and  at  last  out  upon  the  glorious, 
glorious  prairie — so  we  pursued  our  way. 

"  Swallow,  tell  me  of  my  bride  !" 

'•  Hush  !  hush  !  On  !  on  !  The  moment  the  hounds 
are  loosed  they  will  be  upon  our  track.  We  must  reach 
the  little  stream,  and  cross  it  and  gain  the  valleys  beyond, 
before  we  shall  be  safe.  Should  Gray  Coat  discover  that 
you  have  been  wandering  like  the  wolf  about  his  dwellings 
in  the  night,  he  would  assume  thy  name — he  would  be  the 
Wolf  Killer's  killer." 

On  and  on — along  this  dry  creek  bed — past  these 
blooming  roses,  such  as  were  on  this  very  day  to  adorn 
my  bride — into  this  thicket  to  pant  a  moment  and  listen — 
scrambling  down  this  bank  and  up  upon  the  other  side 
— through  this  patch  of  brambles  which  tear  garments 
and  flesh — pacing  this  level  spot,  unthinking  of  the 
radiant  daisies  crushed  by  our  footsteps — hush!  hush! 
away  !  away ! 

"  Take  up  this  pine  branch  and  carry  it  with  us," 
Swallow  said  as  we  passed  one  that  had  been  rent  from 


172  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

the  old  tree  in  some  great  storm  and  swept  alongside  our 
path.  "  We  shall  need  it." 

Away  !  away !  the  morning  has  fully  dawned — yonder 
is  the  sun— see  how  the  dew-drops  sparkle  in  its  light — 
not  brighter  they  than  my  little  bride's  eyes — ah!  not 
more  moist  than  her  tears — away  !  away !  the  chains  have 
fallen  from  the  hounds'  necks.  Hark !  was  not  that  a 
deep  bay? — and  there  is  another  ! — away  !  away !  has  not 
Gray  Coat  sworn  that  if  any  cursed  red  devils  are  found 
stealing  his  vegetables  or  prowling  around  his  chicken 
coops,  they  shall  die? — away  !  away  ! 

There  the  hounds  come.  Hear  their  fierce  bark ;  see, 
even  from  this  distance,  their  red  jaws ;  mark  the  fearful 
leaps  they  take,  fully  ten  of  our  steps  in  one.  Hasten, 
little  Swallow ! — hasten,  brave,  sad  Wolf  Killer !  See  the 
milkman,  and  the  cowboy,  and  the  gardener  urge  them 
on — hear  how  they  shout  and  laugh — rare  sport,  rare 
sport — human  game ! — far  better  than  antelope  or  grouse 
—far  better,  ha  !  ha ! 

But  they  do  not  see  us,  we  are  hidden  by  this  thicket. 
No  conscience  in  those  cruel  hearts ;  no  feeling  in  those 
mangling  jaws ;  no  law  that  all  the  high  legislators,  and 
noble  senators,  and  honorable  Great  Father,  and  govern 
ing  people  can  grant  to  us  now.  Hasten  !  hasten  !  the 
Horsetail  or  death — the  Horsetail  or  death  ! 

For  the  little  stream  we  are  straining  to  gain  is  called 
by  our  people  "  The  Horsetail,"  because  of  its  foaming  fine 
white  spray. 

Now  the  baying  is  louder,  fiercer,  nearer,  and  the 
laughter  is  pleasanter — ha !  ha !  noble  statesmen,  you 
are  joining  in  the  chase.  O  dignified  Secretaries  of  the 
Interior  !  O  pompous  members  of  the  Cabinet !  I  see  your 
eyes  gleaming  over  yonder  hill  watching  the  lark.  Come 
on,  patriotic  debaters — on  !  boasters  of  "  equal  laws." 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AXD  LUNACY.  173 

Ha!  ha!  how  the  learned  editors  scramble  and  jostle 
and  stride  —  ha!  ha!  how  the  intelligent  and  truthful 
reporters  drop  pencil  and  note-book  and  join  the  hunt! 
Noble  game,  this  !  Only  country  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth 
in  which  you  can  have  such  sport :  can't  have  it  in  Russia, 
the  serfs  are  free  ;  can't  have  it  in  England  or  Canada,  the 
Indians  enjoy  the  protection  of  law;  can't  have  it  even  in 
the  slave-hunting  South  of  this  same  free  America,  for  the 
blacks  are  at  least  allowed  to  call  themselves  citizens — 
slaves  no  longer.  But  an  Indian  may  have  stolen  a  potato 
or  a  turnip,  which  no  white  man  ever  does :  therefore  the 
Indian  can't  be  civilized.  Hunt  him  !  kill  him  !  Ha!  ha! 

Now  we've  gained  the  bank  of  the  Horsetail. 

"Quick!"  panted  Swallow;  "tread  with  me  upon  the 

pine   bough   you   have   brought;    place  your  moccasins 

.beside  mine  upon  it;  bind  bunches  of  the  pine-fringe  on 

your  bare  feet;  set  the  bough  adrift.     So!     Now  for  the 

other  side !" 

Oh !  the  pine  fringes  pierce  our  feet  like  needles ;  the 
current  of  the  stream  is  fierce ;  the  quicksands  lurk  slyly 
on  every  hand  ;  the  slippery  rocks  try  to  cast  us  into  the 
waters.  We  gain  the  other  bank ;  we  press  on  through 
the  long  grass,  crouching  low  that  we  may  not  be  seen; 
moccasins  of  pine-fringe  are  not  for  swift  racing,  but  they 
leave  no  trail-scent  behind.  On  !  on  !  on !  until  the 
baying  of  the  baffled  hounds  and  the  curses  of  the  dis 
appointed  cowboy  and  milkman  die  away  in  the  distance, 
and  we  reach  the  shady  valleys  we  had  been  longing  for. 
Under  a  thicket  of  sumac  we  cast  ourselves,  panting, 
gasping.  Our  hearts  throb  wildly  and  our  temples  beat 
and  rage.  The  lips  of  little  Swallow  are  livid  with  fear 
and  exertion  ;  my  own  eyes  I  can  feel  bursting  from  their 
sockets ;  we  are  panting,  gasping — gasping,  panting — but 
oh!  safe,  safe,  safe! 


174  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

And  I  think  of  little  Prairie  Flower,  sweet  little  bride 
of  mine,  pursued  and  hunted  down  by  the  hounds  of 
lust  and  filthiness  whose  scent  is  unerring  and  devilish. 
Oh,  in  all  the  plains  of  human  law,  in  all  the  fields  of 
human  charity,  in  all  the  green  forests  of  pity  for  the 
feeble,  is  there  not  one  little  pine  bough  of  mercy  that 
can  be  thrown  to  her  ? 

"  What  took  thee  to  the  agent's  mansion  ?"  Swallow 
demanded,  breaking  suddenly  the  flow  of  my  thoughts. 

"What  wonder  that  I  should  find  myself,  without 
knowing  how  or  why,  near  the  spot  where  my  bride  is 
imprisoned  ?  The  mocking-bird  hovers  around  the  wicker 
basket  where  the  Indian  boy  coops  up  her  young,  hoping 
to  comfort  if  she  may  not  rescue." 

"  But  thou  wert  in  the  greatest  danger,  from  which  lit 
tle  Swallow — always  remember  it  was  little  Swallow ! — 
scarce  rescued  thee." 

"  Remember !  Dear  little  Swallow,  if  I  were  not  wedded 
in  love  to  my  Prairie  Flower,  I  should  hope  to  show  my 
gratitude  by  shielding  thee,  as  my  wife,  from  every  danger 
in  the  future." 

I  did  not  think  how  galling  such  words  must  have  been 
to  her. 

Then  I  added,  sadly  musing  to  myself : 

"Oh  !  I  have  shielded  my  true  bride  in  a  brave  manner 
indeed!" 

Meanwhile  the  breast  of  little  Swallow  was  heaving  as 
if  some  great  storm  raged  within.  Her  eyes  gleamed 
with  some  strange  passion,  her  cheeks  were  hot  with  some 
great  resolve ;  yet  her  teeth  and  lips  were  tightly  set  toge 
ther  as  if  she  strove  agonizingly  with  herself  to  hide  her 
emotion.  Her  hands  were  clenched  and  she  half  started 
up  upon  her  feet,  but  reconsidering  her  resolution  she  sank 
upon  the  ground  again.  Even  in  my  own  woe  I  noticed 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND  LUNACY.  i?S 

these  singular  evidences  of  some  great  struggle  going  on 
in  her  heart.  I  half  thought  her  insane  for  a  moment, 
but  I  did  not  conjecture  the  real  cause  of  her  agitation. 
I  did  not  know  it  until  many  weary  months  thereafter. 

"  Listen  to  me,  Wolf  Killer,"  she  said,  when  at  length 
she  had  forced  herself  into  a  severe  calmness.  "Your 
bride  is  not  imprisoned.  She  might  return  to  you  at  any 
moment — if  she  would." 

"  Is  she  really  the  waiting-maid  of  Gray  Coat's  wife  ?" 
I  asked,  not  at  first  catching  her  terrible  meaning.  "  Then 
is  she  perhaps  safe  after  all !  O  Wakanda !  I  thank  thee !" 

"  I  mean  not  that,"  Swallow  answered  fiercely.  "  She  is 
not  in  a  woman's  service,  but  a  man's ;  yet  she  might 
return  to  thee  if  she  would." 

"False!  false!  false!"  I  cried,  springing  up.  "Little 
Swallow,  I  have  honored  and  even  loved  thee,  but  if  thou 
tellest  me  this  horrible  lie  I  will  hate  thee — I  will  kill 
thee !  There  is  no  law  to  prevent  my  killing  an  Indian  !" 

"  But  If  it  be  true,  will  you  love  me  still — love  me  more 
than  before?" 

This  was  said  with  the  most  piteous  expression  of  plead 
ing  on  the  sweet  upturned  face  of  the  girl. 

"  But  it  cannot  be  true !"  I  exclaimed.  "  If  Prairie 
Flower  were  free  she  would  come  to  me  swifter  than  you 
ever  saw  wild  dove  wing  herself  back  to  her  young.  She 
must  be  imprisoned  by  the  villain  Scar  Face  !" 

The  pleading  look  faded  out  of  Swallow's  face,  and  eager 
hatred  took  its  place.  I  had  always  considered  the  girl  a 
child,  as  indeed  she  was  in  years,  and  I  had  considered 
her  love  for  me  as  a  childish  passion  which  would  soon 
pass  away;  but  now  before  my  very  eyes  she  seemed  to 
live  several  years  in  as  many  moments  and  to  become  a 
woman,  with  a  woman's  stern  hatred  when  her  love  is 
refused.  She  straightened  herself  up,  her  lips  trembling 


176  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

with  anger,  her  eyes  sparkling  with  it,  her  breast  heaving 
with  it,  her  cheeks  as  red  with  it  as  the  sumac  berries 
above  her  were  red  with  ripeness,  and  shaking  her  taper 
ing  forefinger  at  me,  she  exclaimed : 

"  Thou  hast  treasured  a  love  that  was  not  thine ;  thou 
hast  spurned  a  love  that  was.  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha,  thou 
knowest  that  at  one  time  I  was  waiting-maid  to  the  wife 
of  Gray  Coat.  It. was  then  that  I  learned  the  paths  through 
which  to-day  I  have  led  thee  to  safety.  It  was  then  that 
I  became  aware  of  the  base  nature  of  Scar  Face,  and  when 
I  knew  that  he  was  casting  his  eyes  upon  thy  Prairie 
Flower,  at  first  I  shuddered,  but  at  last  I  exulted.  Yes,  I 
exulted  !  For  thou  knowest  little  of  an  Indian  woman's 
heart  if  thou  hast  not  weighed  the  dark  deeds  she  will  do 
and  the  horrible  thoughts  she  will  entertain  when  stung 
by  jealousy.  I  saw  thee  devoted  in  thought  and  deed  to 
her.  I  hoped  that  if  she  were  removed  thou  wouldst  learn 
to  love  little  Swallow.  So  I  consented  to  carry  messages 
from  Scar  Face  to  the  bride,  and  she  at  first  received  them 
spurningly,  then  timidly,  and  at  last  gladly." 

"  Thou  liest!"  I  exclaimed  through  my  clenched  teeth. 

"  He  promised  to  take  her  to  be  his  wife  and  to  make  a 
grand  lady  of  her.  This  promise  she  joyously,  believed. 
When  the  moment  had  come  for  them  to  escape  together, 
the  Wolf  Killer  being  away  in  search  of  roses — ha !  ha ! — 
she  feigned  the  greatest  sorrow,  so  as  not  to  break  the 
heart  of  her  father,  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe." 

"  She  has  broken  it !"  I  bitterly  exclaimed. 

"What!  is  he  dead?" 

"  He  is  dead  !" 

I  did  not  at  the  moment  particularly  notice  the  strange 
effect  this  announcement  made  upon  little  Swallow,  who 
had  not  returned  to  our  village  since  the  previous  evening 
and  consequently  did  not  know  of  the  wise  man's  death. 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND  LUNACY.  177 

But  in  after  years  I  recalled  the  expression,  half  remorse 
ful,  half  frightened,  that  passed  over  her  face ;  and  remem 
bered  how  for  some  moments  she  seemed  unable  to  resume 
her  narrative.  O  Swallow !  thou  wast  too  young  and  too 
really  good  at  heart  to  be  a  great  deceiver,  even  though 
thy  passion  was  great;  but  thou  didst  cruelly  and  bitterly 
succeed  upon  me,  stunned  by  my  own  sad  thoughts,  that 
day ! 

"  When  they  had  gone,"  at  length  she  resumed,  "  I 
waited  to  see  if  thine  eyes  would  be  tender  toward  me, 
and  when  they  were  not  I  dashed  after  the  runaways,  hop 
ing  to  frighten  them  into  returning  by  threatening  to  tell 
the  plot  to  thee.  I  overtook  them  in  the  very  arbor  where 
we  crouched  hiding  from  the  milkman  this  morning,  and 
there  I  confronted  them." 

"O  Wakanda!"  I  exclaimed,  interrupting  the  narrator, 
whom  I  strangely,  foolishly  believed.  "  Spare  me,  Swal 
low  !  spare  me !" 

The  little  maiden  regarded  me  anxiously  for  a  moment, 
as  if  to  see  what  impression  her  words  made  upon  me, 
and  then  continued  : 

"  When  I  demanded  that  they  should  return  they 
laughed  aloud,  and  your  'own  little  Prairie  Flower'  said: 
'Go  and  tell  Wolf  Killer  what  you  have  seen.  Tell  him  that 
I  love  Scar  Face  and  that  the  morrow  shall  indeed  be  my 
wedding-day.  But  I  shall  be  united  to  a  noble  white  man, 
and  shall  be  a  grand  lady  instead  of  an  Indian's  squaw/ 
This  she  said,  and  with  another  laugh  they  passed  on.  I 
lingered  round  the  grand  mansion  the  whole  night,  hoping 
that  she  might  repent  and  come  out  to  me  when  she  knew 
the  real  character  of  Scar  Face.  That  she  did  not  repent 
thou  thyself  knowest;  and  while  lingering  to  succor  her 
I  came  upon  her  unhappy  lover,  and  had  the  bliss  of  res 
cuing  him  from  a  fierce  and  bloody  death." 


178  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  Swallow  !"  I  cried,  grasping  her  hand  with  a  passionate 
strength  that  must  have  made  it  ache,  "  wilt  thou  swear 
before  the  great  Wakanda  that  thy  story  is  true,  and  that 
these  were  Prairie  Flower's  words?" 

"  I — I — but  why  should  I  swear  it  ?  If  I  had  told  thee 
a  falsehood  would  I  not  be  willing  to  twice  perjure  my 
soul  to  uphold  it  ?  Take  my  word,  or  go  on  in  thy  ridicu 
lous  deception,  and  when  thy  bride  comes  back  to  thee 
accept  her  as  she  is  !" 

"  I  believe  thee  !"  I  moaned.  "  Why  hast  thou  cruelly 
saved  me  from  the  jaws  of  the  blood-hounds  to  be  de 
voured  by  this  fierce  agony  ?" 

Let  no  one  think  me  easily  duped  and  worthy  the  scorn 
and  contempt  of  all  strong  hearts,  until  he  has  placed 
himself  in  the  physical  and  mental  condition  to  which  I 
had  been  reduced — until  he  has  wandered  though  a  whole 
despairing  night  upon  the  prairies,  racked  by  every  fear 
and  persecuted  by  every  doubt,  and  until  he  has  measured 
that  strange  jealousy  of  which  the  loving  heart  is  capable, 
which  often  assumes  the  garb  of  humility  and  prompts  one 
to  believe,  on  any  evidence  that  seems  at  all  adequate,  that 
the  object  of  his  love  loves  him  not.  O  my  Wagh-ta  !  my 
bride!  in  my  heart  of  hearts  I  knew  even  at  that  moment 
that  I  cruelly  wronged  thee,  yet  maddened  by  uncertainty, 
deep  in  the  raging  currents  of  despair,  which  are  colder 
and  fiercer  than  the  swirls  of  the  Missouri,  because  thou 
hadst  been  torn  from  my  arms,  I  persuaded  myself  that  I 
believed  her — I  thought  I  believed  thee  false. 

Again  the  pleading,  loving  look  came  into  the  eyes  of 
little  Swallow,  and  turning  a  frightened,  flushed,  piteous 
face  up  to  me,  she  said  : 

"  Dost  thou  not  yet  love  me  ?     Wilt  thou  but  whisper 
once  in  little  Swallow's  ear  •  Khta-we-tha?'  "  * 
*  I  love  thee. 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND  LUNACY.  i?9 

"  Love  thee  ?  No  !"  I  cried,  casting  her  from  me.  "  How 
can  I  love  one  who  confesses  to  have  helped  to  rob  me  of 
my  bride,  and  who  exulted  to  know  that  she  should  be 
won  from  me  !  I  would  kill  thee,  but  that  thou  hast  told 
me  certainly  of  my — of  Wagh — of  her  /"  For  the  first  time 
her  name  was  bitter  upon  my  lips,  and  I  gnashed  my 
teeth  in  rage  upon  her  as  if  I  were  the  wolf  himself  and  not 
his  killer.  But  ah !  my  little  Swallow,  my  dear  little 
Swallow,  now,  many  years  after  that  morning  under  the 
sumacs,  I  do  love  thee  ;  I  understand  the  strange  attempt 
thou  didst  make  to  win  my  heart ;  I  treasure  thy 
memory  next  to  the  love  of  sweet  Prairie  Flower  herself; 
and  if  the  angel  into  which  thou  hast  been  transformed 
could  pass  by  me  as  I  write,  I  would  kiss  and  weep  upon 
the  hem  of  its  garment ! 

When  I  had  thus  madly  repelled  the  deluded  little 
maiden,  I  turned  from  her  and  rushed  wildly  away. 

Away  !  away !  away  !  wading  rivers — stumbling  through 
bramble  patches — panting  in  shady  nooks  a  moment — 
lapping  water  from  the  spring  (oh  !  that  it  could  cool 
my  soul!)  tearing  blindly  through  forests  darkened  by 
heavy  night — starting  at  shadows,  and  yet  hoping  for 
danger  and  praying  for  death — afraid  of  the  sound  of  my 
own  footsteps,  and  yet  heeding  not  the  crackling  of  the 
underbrush  as  the  black  bear  plunged  through  it.  On! 
on  !  on  I  unresting,  tottering,  scrambling,  racing,  despair 
ing — vainly  striving  to  get  rid  of  myself  by  fleeing  from 
place  to  place;  pausing  upon  beetling  rocks  that  over 
looked  the  shining,  surging  river,  and  trying  passionately 
and  with  tears  to  cast  myself  off,  but  held  back  by  some 
tormenting  power.  On  !  on  !  on  !  the  days  chase  the 
nights,  and  the  nights  chase  the  days,  and  both  chase  me 
— the  howling  hours  hard  at  my  heels — dreams,  phantoms, 
memories,  shadows,  noises,  fears,  join  in  one  yelling  pack 


180  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

and  between  all  horrid  barks  and  bays  cry,  "  We'll  have 
him  down  !  we'll  have  him  down  !"  What  I  thought  and 
fancied  only  Wakanda  will  ever  know.  The  only  rest  I 
had  was  when  a  storm  was  raging.  Only  in  the  contortions 
of  wrestling  clouds,  and  the  thundering  stampede  of  the 
buffaloes  of  the  air,  and  the  flashing  of  the  lightning — 
which  is  so  vivid  itself  that  no  likeness  can  be  found  for  it 
— only  in  such  turbulent  commotions  could  I  find  any  com 
panionship.  I  would  stand  on  some  little  ant-mound  or 
tree-stump  in  the  prairie,  and  fold  my  arms  when  the  rain 
began  to  fall,  and  smile  when  the  lightning  played  around 
my  head,  and  the  fierce  voices  of  the  storm  roared  and 
laughed  at  me  ;  and  when  the  wind  would  come  to  batter 
me  from  my  perch,  I  would  brace  myself  against  it  and 
sneer  in  its  teeth  ;  and  when  the  storm  was  full  and  wildest 
I  would  open  my  arms  to  take  rain  and  lightning  and 
thunder  and  tempest  into  them  and  greet  them  as  my 
brothers. 

When  the  storm  began  to  fail  I  sadly  watched  it  depart 
as  if  it  were  the  one  great  comfort  of  my  life.  And  when 
it  was  gone  and  the  sky  became  clear,  all  my  passion  and 
fear  and  misery  came  back  upon  me  a  hundred  times 
fiercer  than  before,  and  leaving  my  blessings  upon  the 
stump  or  ant-hill  where  I  had  enjoyed  one  little  moment 
of  repose,  I  would  start  my  pained,  bleeding  feet  upon 
my  hopeless,  aimless  journey.  Through  the  hissing  wet 
grass — over  the  tree-trunks  hot  yet  with  the  lightning 
stroke  that  felled  them  to  the  earth — through  the  swollen 
muddy  creeks,  from  which  the  very  frogs  spring  up  with 
the  swiftness  of  deers  to  join  the  chase — away !  away  ! 
away ! 

What  years  I  lived  in  those  few  nights  and  days  !  What 
agonies  I  suffered  !  I  hated  the  day  for  its  brightness  and 
the  night  that  it  was  not  gloomier,  but  I  hated  the  day 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND  LUNACY.  181 

more  than  the  night,  and  grew  so  much  in  my  detestation 
of  it  that  soon  I  had  to  lie  under  thick  bushes  all  the  hours 
that  the  sun  shone,  and  cover  my  head  with  dirt  to  keep 
the  light  from  driving  me  mad. 

I  though  always  of  my  Wagh-ta — my  poor,  deluded  little 
bride.  My  years  had  had  but  one  passion,  but  one  happi 
ness — my  love  for  her ;  and  now  that  she  had  left  me  I 
was  more  deeply  despairing  than  perhaps  I  should  have 
been  had  not  my  life  been  so  retired  and  simple.  I 
would  catch  myself,  as  I  rushed  along,  thinking  of  her 
sweet  ways  and  soft  breath  and  wonderful  eyes.  Then  1 
would  fiercely  try  to  forget  them.  And  I  would  nerve  my 
poor,  frantic  brain  to  see  if  I  really  did  believe  what 
Swallow  had  said.  Was  Wagh-ta  false,  or  had  she  been 
torn  away  against  her  will?  Was  I  Wolf  Killer  at  all? 
Was  this  agony  real,  or  did  I  but  dream  ?  And  I  would 
dash  headlong  into  a  bunch  of  wild  blackberry  bushes  to 
awaken  me. 

WThither  I  went  I  know  not.  I  paid  but  little  attention  to 
the  scenery,  yet  even  in  my  frenzy  certain  vivid  pictures  of 
the  country  I  passed  through  fixed  themselves  in  my 
memory,  as  the  images  of  a  horrible  dream  remain  in  the 
mind  after  the  day  has  come.  I  know  that  the  country  I 
traversed  became  more  broken  day  by  day ;  the  settlements 
of  white  men,  by  which  I  would  creep  fearful  and  breathless 
at  night,  became  fewer  and  fewer;  the  prairies  gave  place 
to  the  hills  and  the  hills  to  the  mountains.  The  great  gray 
rocks  under  which  I  would  now  cast  -myself  when  utterly 
fatigued  were  seamed  and  ridged  with  purple  and  scarlet, 
knotted  and  twisted  into  all  fantastic  shapes,  and  scarred 
and  chiseled  by  the  cold  storms  which  dashed  daily  over 
them.  These  scenes  reminded  me  painfully,  and  yet  with 
a  tantalizing  pleasure,  of  the  story  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe 
had  told  us  of  his  boyhood's  home;  and  by  consequence 


1 82  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

they  brought  before  me — as  everything  I  looked  upon 
seemed  sworn  to  do — the  face  of  my  poor  bride. 

These  wild  scenes  acted  upon  my  mind  just  as  the 
storm  did — theyawred  me  into  calmness,  and  in  their  rug 
ged  grandeur  I  felt  that  I  had  sympathy  and  brotherhood. 
I  thought  much  of  what  Standing  Elk  had  suffered  in 
just  such  scenes,  and  I  grew  strong  in  the  fancied  presence 
of  his  example.  I  blessed  him  again  and  again  for  what 
he  had  been  to  me,  and  I  blessed  Wakanda  that  the  wise 
man  had  died  unconscious  of  the  shame  that  rested  upon 
him.  I  had  no  curses  in  my  heart  to  heap  upon  Scar 
Face  even,  although  I  moaned  day  and  night,  "  Wa-gha ! 
Wa-gha !  *  How  dreadful  is  thy  power !  How  helpless  is 
our  unhappy  race  in  thy  grasp  !  No  law,  no  hope  !  Wa- 
gha!  Wa-gha!" 

Wandering  aimlessly  among  these  great  hills  I  came 
one  evening  upon  a  little  lake,  whose  waters  were  so  blue 
and  beautiful  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  part  of  the  deep  sky 
had  fallen  down  and  been  caught  and  retained  within  the 
rocky  fingers  of  the  banks.  My  mind  was  now  so  calm 
that  I  could  enter,  with  something  of  my  former  enjoy 
ment,  into  a  contemplation  of  serene  beauty,  and  so  I  sat 
down  upon  a  mossy  boulder  to  survey  the  scene  at  my 
leisure.  On  one  side  of  the  lake  the  mountains  rose  rug 
ged  and  precipitous  from  the  very  edge  of  the  waters, 
while  on  the  other  side  there  was  a  little  stretch  of  level 
sod  which  gradually  dimpled  into  hiils  and  broke  into 
towering  crags.  The  lake  itself  was  so  clear  that  I  could 
see  the  bright-fmned  trout  sporting  unmolested  in  the 
deep  places,  idling  under  rock-shadows,  or  proudly  exhib 
iting  their  crimson  spots  to  their  mates.  The  shadows 
of  the  hills  seemed  to  float  upon  the  surface  of  the  waters 

*  "White  man  !    White  man  !" 


BLOOD-HOUNDS  AND   LUNACY.  183 

as  if  they  feared  to  pollute  the  pure  depths.  Near  the 
farther  bank  a  flock  of  wild  ducks  fed  among  the  ripples, 
and  now  and  again  expanded  their  bright  wings  in  the 
sunlight.  The  distant  murmur  of  irrepressible  brooks 
hasting  toward  the  lake  mingled  tauntingly  with  the 
hoarse  growl  of  the  larger  stream  that  was  forced  to  leave 
that  quiet  resting  place  and  begin  its  weary  journey 
through  the  haunts  of  men.  The  fern  stalks  along  the 
banks  waved  their  fronds  sleepily ;  the  fringy  mosses 
rose  and  fell  upon  the  miniature  tides  that  put  into  the 
tiny  bays  between  the  pebbles,  and  the  rows  of  white 
flowers  seemed  like  a  troop  of  fairy  antelopes  that  had 
come  down  to  the  water's  edge  to  drink,  and,  charmed  by 
the  loveliness,  had  neglected  to  depart. 

It  was  all  so  beautiful  and  restful  that  for  the  first  time 
since  my  sad  loss  I  could  think  it  all  calmly  over.  How 
strange  it  seemed  that  such  heartless  passions  and  fierce 
agonies  could  be  in  a  world  where  the  lakes  were  so  still 
and  the  flowers  so  lovely.  Were  not  these  holy  scenes 
mingled  with  the  unholy  for  the  purpose  of  pointing  the 
sick  heart  to  the  better  world  beyond  ?  I  leaned  my  hol 
low  cheek  upon  my  thin  hand  and  brooded  for  an  hour 
over  this  thought.  The  fire  of  my  passion  seemed  to 
have  burned  out,  and  it  was  with  a  strange  feeling  of  re 
lief  that  I  found  I  could  not  awaken  a  single  bitter  thought, 
although  I  summoned  before  my  mind  all  the  persons  by 
whom  I  had  been  wronged.  I  could  even  speak  the  name 
of  my  lost  bride,  and  when  I  found  that  it  was  not  bitter 
upon  my  lips  I  repeated  it  over  and  over— "  Wagh-ta! 
Wagh-ta !"  "And  speaking  that  sweet  name  I  fell  into  a 
gentle  sleep. 

When  I  awoke  it  was  high  noon  of  the  next  day,  and 
the  first  object  that  caught  my  sight  was  a  white  man  sit 
ting  upon  the  root  of  a  tree  scarce  five  feet  from  me.  His 


1 84  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

head  was  down  between  his  knees ;  with  his  hands  he  was 
tugging  at  his  curly  black  hair;  his  clothes  were  rent  and 
cut  as  if  his  journey  had  been  as  long  as  mine;  streaks  of 
hardened  blood  scarred  his  hands  and  naked  feet  and  hag 
gard  face ;  and  his  wild  eyes  were  glaring  upon  me  in  a 
look  of  the  most  terrible  longing  and  desire.  At  first  I 
half  suspected  that  this  was  one  of  the  horrible  creatures 
which  had  been  pushing  their  leering  faces  into  my  dreams 
and  dogging  me  with  phantom  feet,  but  all  doubt  of  his 
real  existence  vanished  when  the  man  with  foaming  lips 
hissed  these  words : 

"  Ha,  ha  !  I  have  found  you — horrible,  ungainly,  devilish 
reptile  that  have  been  riding  on  my  back  all  these  years — 
I  have  found  you  !  I  was  watching  you  all  the  long  night, 
and  while  the  morning  came,  and  didn't  I  draw  a  rattle 
snake  over  your  lips  to  awaken  you,  and  you  kissed  it  as 
if  it  were  your  bride?  Ha!  ha!  You've  been  down  to 
Boston,  have  you  ?  And  did  you  see  the  treasurer  of  the 
'  Non-interference  Missionary  Band  of  Hope  '  ?  No  !  you 
didn't,  didn't,  didn't — he's  here ;  your  favored  eyes  behold 
him.  But  I'll  have  your  blood — it  shall  trickle  through 
these  fingers — you  are  mine,  mine,  mine!" 

Unable  to  stand  his  horrible  jargon  any  longer,  I  began 
to  rise  from  the  ground,  when,  with  a  piercing  scream, 
which  was  half  a  laugh  as  well,  the  bloody  creature  sprang 
upon  me  with  the  strength  of  ten  buffaloes  and  hurled  me 
back  to  the  earth,  I  clutched  him  with  my  arms,  and  we 
tugged,  twisted,  wrestled,  now  one  having  the  advantage, 
and  now  the  other,  until,  with  a  scream  wilder  and  shriller 
than  the  largest  eagle  could  have  made,  he  caught  me  in 
his  arms  as  if  I  had  been  a  babe,  and  plunged  with  me  into 
the  lake. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

LITTLE  SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL. 

WE  must  now  return  to  little  Swallow,  so  that  you 
may  have  the  whole  story  in  your  mind  as  we  pass  along. 
Many  weary  months  had  passed  before  I  fully  knew 
what  thoughts  throbbed  through  her  busy  mind  under 
the  sumacs  that  morning,  and  what  brave  deeds  she  per 
formed  to  help  and  save  my  bride  ;  but  as  I  do  know 
them  while  I  write,  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  learn  them 
now. 

When  I  turned  from  Swallow  and  rushed  so  wildly 
away  she  followed  me  with  her  eyes,  in  which  the  piteous 
pleading  was  mixed  with  a  look  of  deep  disappointment. 
She  had  played  a  desperate  game,  and  now  that  she  had 
so  plainly  failed  to  gain  her  object,  she  saw  how  foolish 
and  wicked  the  whole  attempt  had  been.  Mournfully  she 
called  upon  me  to  return,  extending  her  arms  toward  the 
path  I  had  taken,  and  weeping  hot  tears  of  repentance ; 
but  either  I  did  not  hear  her  voice  or  I  would  not  obey. 
Standing  for  a  few  moments  in  this  attitude  of  guilty 
despair,  she  at  length  sank  down  upon  the  ground  and 
covered  her  head  with  her  blanket. 

"Woe!  woe!  woe!"  she  moaned,  rocking  herself  from 
side  to  side;  "would  that  long  since  I  had  sung  my  Dta- 
wa-e !  *  Would  that  I  were  dead  1  How  could  I  so  wrong 
thee,  Wagh-ta !  how  could  I  so  blast  thy  life,  my  noble, 
generous  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha !  Why  did  my  lips  speak 
such  falsehoods  when  my  heart  loved  so  well  ?  And  why 

*  Death  son^. 


1 86  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

did  the  brave  Wolf  Killer  mention  the  name  of  the  dead 
Um-pan-nez-zhe  ?  O  wise  man  !  wise  man  !  How  poorly  I 
have  kept  thy  teachings,  how  shamefully  I  have  forgotten 
the  sacred  reverence  in  which  thou  art  by  all  my  people 
held  !  And  thou  art  dead  too!  Upon  thy  pale  lips  and 
stiffened  cheeks  did  I  dare  to  heap  falsehoods?  What  is 
life  to  me  now  ?  Without  the  love  of  Wolf  Killer  and 
with  this  great  shame  resting  upon  my  heart,  it  were  far 
better  to  die."  As  she  thus  mourned  she  saw  at  her  very 
feet  a  poisonous  root,  one  bite  of  which  would  tear  soul 
from  body  ;  and  she  instantly  resolved  thus  to  die.  Then, 
as  is  our  custom  in  the  face  of  death,  she  broke  out  into 
her  death  song :  "  Farewell,  O  glorious,  glorious  sun !  I 
look  forth  upon  thee  even  from  my  agony  and  remorse; 
I  look  upon  thee  for  the  last  time.  Farewell,  O  swelling 
prairies  and  shining  river  and  blooming  flowers!  ye  are 
all  so  far  purer  and  better  than  poor,  unhappy  Swallow, 
that  I  leave  you  unstained  in  your  loveliness !  Now  I  am — • 
but  am  I,  ready?  Shall  I  eat  this  root — this  little  root 
that  my  hand  so  easily  holds,  and  die?  Let  me  think,  O 
my  pounding  heart!  Would  that  be  bravest  and  most 
noble?  What  will  Wakanda  say  to  me  when  I  appear 
before  him  ?  How  will  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe  weep  for 
me !  Nay  !  nay !  I  will  live.  Tis  cowardly  to  take  one's 
own  life  when  so  much  ought  to  be  done.  I  will  face  the 
injury  I  have  wrought  and  repair  it  if  I  may.  Up!  up! 
I  will  hasten  to  Wagh-ta  and  save  her  from  the  cruel 
clutches  of  the  white  man.  O  Wolf  Killer!  I  have  tried 
two  means  of  comforting  thee,  one  by  proffered  love  and 
one  by  bitter  falsehood.  I  will  try  another — I  will  save 
thy  bride.  Love  and  hate  have  iailed,  unselfishness  may 
succeed  !" 

With  these  words  she  sprang  up,  and  tearing  the  bandage 
of  pine-fringe  from  her  bleeding  feet,  started  upon  her 


LITTLE   SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL.     187 

noble  mission.  Jealousy  had  been  conquered  or  forgotten 
in  the  fierce  struggle  she  had  had  with  remorse;  and  now 
her  whole  soul  was  absorbed  in  the  desire  to  repair  what 
her  misguided  love  had  wrought.  And  hers  was  a  noble 
soul  truly.  She  was  one  of  those  strong,  self-reliant  little 
bodies,  who,  having  adopted  a  wise  course  of  action,  pur 
sue  it  to  the  end.  And  if,  as  in  the  case  of  Swallow,  such 
a  strong  nature  is  apt  to  fall  into  errors  or  even  misdeeds, 
it  is  the  quickest  to  see  the  fault  and  the  wisest  to  undo  it. 
She  had  a  remarkable  store  of  that  womanly  faculty  which 
reveals,  as  if  by  inspiration,  what  is  to  be  done  and  the 
right  time  for  doing  it ;  as  indeed  had  been  shown  in  our 
race  with  the  bloodhounds  that  very  morning.  Blessings 
upon  thee,  little  Swallow,  as  thou  art  crossing  the  Horse 
tail  again  with  bare  and  bleeding  feet,  and  retracing  thy 
steps  toward  the  beautiful  mansion  of  the  agent,  search 
ing  for  my  love ! 

The  wise  little  maiden  presumed  that  Scar  Face  had 
poor  Wagh-ta  in  some  place  of  imprisonment  which  was 
not  far  from  the  mansion  of  his  father,  and  yet  outside  of 
the  building  itself.  She  understood  the  singular  desire 
of  the  young  man  that  the  good  opinion  his  mother  had 
of  him  should  not  be  altered  by  any  knowledge  of  his  mis 
deeds,  and  therefore  she  argued  that  he  would  be  very 
secret  and  watchful  in  his  present  scheme.  She  thus 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  Scar  Face  would  consume 
some  time  in  the  pretense  of  gaining  Wagh-ta's  real  love 
by  a  hypocritical  offer  of  his  own,  so  that  his  shameful 
crime  should  not  be  talked  of  among  the  Indians,  and 
thus  reach  his  mother's  ears.  Thus  she  would  have 
opportunity  to  find  the  prisoner  and  help  her  to  escape. 
If  worst  came  to  worst,  Swallow  resolved  to  notify  his 
mother  of  the  whole  transaction,  and  thus  use  her  influ 
ence  over  her  son  to  make  him  desist. 


1 88  PLOUGHED    UNDER. 

Revolving  these  thoughts  in  her  mind,  the  self-reliant 
girl  made  her  way  toward  Gray  Coat's  home.  Her  ser 
vice  with  the  wife  of  the  agent  had  been  so  long  and  so 
recent,  that  all  the  employes  knew  her  and  allowed  her 
to  come  and  go  as  she  pleased.  Even  the  tan-eared 
bloodhounds  opened  their  sleepy  eyes  for  a  moment,  and 
then  closed  them  again  when  she  passed  their  kennel,  as 
if  they  were  satisfied  that  she  had  a  right  to  tread  uppn 
the  sacred  ground  they  guarded. 

As  Swallow  thus  gained  the  garden  on  this  eventful 
morning  she  met  the  milkman  going  toward  the  barn. 

"  Helloa !  Swallow,  is  that  you  ?"  he  said  condescend 
ingly.  "Come  back  to  visit  us  again?  You  came  too 
late  this  time,  my  dear.  We  had  some  grand  sport  this 
morning  chasing  one  of  your  worthless  race." 

"  Did  you  catch  him  ?"  asked  Swallow,  and  for  the  life 
of  her  she  could  not  keep  a  sly  twinkle  out  of  her  eye. 

"  No  !     Drat  it  all,  we  didn't !" 

"  Niver  ye  moind !"  said  the  Irish  gardener,  who  now 
came  up,  and  resting  on  his  spade  joined  in  the  conversa 
tion.  "  It's  me  opzne-ion  that  we'll  have  another  whirl  at 
'em  some  of  thim  foin  mornins.  To  think  of  the  biggars 
crapin'  around  an  honest  man's  house  whin  he's  a  slapin' 
away  as  paceful  as  a  kitten  !  It's  me  opi'ne-lon  that  we 
ort  to  nip  'em  in  the  bood,  it  is." 

Little  Swallow's  blood  was  up,  so  turning  her  flashing 
eyes  upon  the  foreigner  she  asked  : 

"And  how  long  have  yo^i  been  in  this  land  of  liberty 
that  you  have  learned  to  judge  other  people,  in  true 
American  style,  without  a  hearing?" 

"  Nigh  onto  a  twelve  mun',  me  leddy.      And  I'm  purty  I 
well  plazed  wid  all  I  see,  'cept  that  the  abrigoinal  savages 
ort  to  be  anni-//*>//-letted.     It's  me  op/>/^-ion  an  honest 
man  '11  niver  get  his  rights  till  the  rid  divils  are  gone." 


LITTLE   SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL.     189 

"  And  what  are  your  rights,  noble  sir?" 
"  Hundred  and  sixty  acres  o'  land  all  paid  for,  but  now 
occupied  by  the  Injins,  and  no  sass  from  youngsters!" 
"  And  what  are  our  rights,  noble  sir  ?" 
"  You  haint  got  none  to  spake  of." 
"Ha!  ha!"  said   the   milkman.      "He!  he!"  said  the 
cow-boy,  who   had   pushed   his  speckled   nose  into  the 
group. 

Encouraged  by  this  flattering  reception  of  his  eloquence 
the  Irishman  squared  his  elbows,  tipped  his  hat  upon  the 
side  of  his  head,  and  having  spit  once  or  twice  upon  the 
ground  as  if  in  deep  thought,  resumed  the  attack  as 
follows : 

"  Look'ee,  me  gerrel.  It's  me  op/#*-ion  ye've  niver 
been  to  Ne-York  harbor,  hev  ye?  Well,  in  a  prominint 
attichude  in  said  harbor,  there's  goin'  to  be  a  jegantic 
statute  o^  Liberty,  holdin'  in  her  moighty  hand  a  torruch, 
out  to  i^n  r  to  loight  me  honest  counthrymen  to  the  broad 
shores  ^  this  land  of  the  free  and  hum  of  the  brave. 
And  we're  a  comin',  too.  And  you  red-skins  is  a-goin'. 
And  that's  all  there  is  about  it." 

The  brave  little  maiden  turned  her  brave  look  upon 
them  all  and  answered  : 

"  It  seems  very  strange  that  while  the  most  ignorant 
people  of  the  world  can  come  to  this  land,  and  claim  and 
receive  equality  under  her  laws  with  her  greatest  states 
men  ;  the  poor  Indians,  who  have  always  lived  in  happi 
ness  and  freedom  on  this  very  soil,  are  put  under  the 
meanest  whim  of  the  most  evil  man.  The  torch-light  you 
tell  of  may  welcome  your  countrymen ;  we  do  not  com 
plain  of  that.  But  I  think  some  of  its  light  might  shine 
toward  the  red  man,  who  owns  the  land  that  you  are 
pushing  him  out  of." 

"  Ha !  ha !"  said  the  milkman. 


19°  '     PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  Ho  !  ho  !"  said  the  gardener. 

"  He  !  he !"  said  the  speckled-nosed  cow-boy. 

Then  the  three  profound  statesmen  stepped  aside  and 
allowed  the  Indian  girl  to  pass.* 

Without  heeding  their  sneers  the  brave  Swallow  made 
her  way  to  the  mansion  of  the  agent,  with  the  vague  pur 
pose  of  finding  Scar  Face  and  watching  him  until  he 
should  slip  away  to  the  prison  of  little  Prairie  Flower, 
whither  she  would  follow  him,  and  do  what  she  could  to 
defend  or  even  rescue  the  captive.  In  the  spacious  recep 
tion-room  of  Gray  Coat's  residence  she  found  the  agent 
and  his  wife  and  son  pleasantly  conversing  upon  the 
events  of  the  day.  The  lady,  with  whom  she  had  always 
been  a  favorite,  gave  her  a  kind  welcome ;  and  little 
Swallow,  taking  a  station  behind  her  chair,  prepared  to 
profit  by  any  hints  that  Scar  Face  might  drop  in  the  con 
versation  as  to  the  place  in  which  Wagh-ta  w£S  concealed. 

"Are  you  sure,"  the  lady  said,  resuming  their  iversa- 
tion,  "  that  it  was  a  thief  whose  track  the  dogs  cair^ht  and 
followed  this  morning?  Have  you  missed  anything  from 
the  premises,  or  was  anything  disturbed  ?" 

"What  object,  dear  mother,"  Scar  Face  answered  with 
the  greatest  reverence,  "  could  any  of  the  red  heathen 
have  prowling  around  our  dwelling  if  it  were  not  the  hope 
of  securing  plunder?  And  why  did  he  flee  so  swiftly  from 
the  hounds  and  plan  so  skillfully  to  escape,  if  he  did  not 
feel  himself  guilty?" 

"  But  why,  dear  husband,"  the  lady  said,  without  seem 
ing  to  notice  the  arguments  of  her  son,  "  is  it  necessary  to 
keep  such  cruel  and  unthinking  instruments  as  these 
hounds  with  which  to  execute  justice  ?  They  are  just  as 

*  The  attentive  reader  will  discover  that  this  scene  in  the  garden  is 
simply  a  shorthand  report  of  one  of  the  recent  debates  in  Congress 
(somewhat  condensed) . 


LITTLE   SWALLOW  TAKES  THE   TRAIL.     191 

likely  to  fall  upon  and  strangle  the  innocent  as  the  guilty, 
since  you  teach  them  to  follow  every  Indian's  trail.  Why 
could  not  culprits,  if  there  be  such,  be  brought  to  punish 
ment  in  some  more  equitable  and  humane  way  ?" 

••  My  wife,"  the  smooth  voice  of  the  comfortable  and 
hearty  agent  replied,  "it  would  be  very  hard  to  find  an 
Indian  who  is  not  in  some  manner  and  degree  a  culprit, 
so  that  the  hounds  can  scarcely  do  any  great  amount  of 
injustice,  even  though  their  jaws  close  upon  red  throats 
indiscriminately.  Besides,  in  this  wild  country  this  is  all 
the  law  we  have." 

"It  is  all  the  law  ive  have,"  exclaimed  Swallow  from 
behind  the  chair,  unable  to  keep  silence  any  longer. 
"And  let  me  tell  you,  Gray  Coat,  it  makes  all  the  differ 
ence  in  the  world  whether  you  are  before  or  behind  the 
bloodhounds  when  they  are  on  a  trail.  If  you  could  hear 
them  after  you  just  once,  you  might  have  a  different 
opinion  of  the  justice  of  this  kind  of  '  law.' " 

"  Come,  come !"  exclaimed  Scar  Face  sneeringly,  "  we 
have  a  legislator  here." 

"  But,  little  Swallow,"  the  agent  replied,  in  his  smooth 
tone,  "  since  the  Great  Father  has  seen  fit,  in  his  wisdom, 
to  deny  you  the  protection  of  our  national  laws,  is  it  not 
best  to  submit  ?" 

"  Our  unhappy  race,  as  a  race,  can  but  submit ;  but  we 
as  a  tribe,"  said  Swallow,  with  a  heaving  breast,  "have 
one — and  but  one — hope  of  succor." 

"  What  is  that  ?"  laughed  Scar  Face. 

Turning  her  steady  eyes  upon  the  young  man  the 
maiden  slowly  replied  :  "  It  is  in  the  kindness  and  grace 
of  thy  sweet  mother's  heart,  which  surely  cannot  see  the 
innocent  oppressed !" 

With  these  words  Swallow  knelt  at  the  lady's  feet  and 
hid  her  face  in  her  garments.  With  a  laugh  which  sadly 


I92  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

professed  to  be  careless  the  young  man  went  out  and  up 
the  broad  stairs  to  his  own  room,  and  his  father,  with  a 
hearty,  comfortable  step,  passed  into  his  office  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hall.  When  they  had  gone  Swallow 
dared  to  look  up,  and  she  saw  that  the  lady's  eyes  were 
full  of  tears. 

"  Is  there  need,  then,  of  my  interference  to  prevent  thy 
simple-hearted  race  being  wronged  ?"  the  lady  asked. 

"  Thou  shalt  see,  dear  lady  ;  thou  shalt  see  !" 

And  without  trusting  herself  to  say  more,  lest  in  her 
excitement  she  should  reveal  the  crime  of  Scar  Face 
prematurely,  Swallow  rushed  from  the  lady's  presence. 
She  was  sure  that  the  young  man  had  meditated,  and  per 
haps  accomplished,  a  cruel  purpose,  and  though  she  did 
not  hesitate  to  reveal  her  suspicions  to  his  mother  on  his 
account,  or  from  any  felt  probability  of  their  being  ill- 
founded,  she  still  wished  to  spare  the  lady  until  she  dis 
covered  that  her  interference  alone  could  save  the  un 
happy  Wagh-ta. 

After  this  singular  but  eventful  intervfew  Swallow 
hastened  to  the  quarters  of  the  female  servants  below  to 
inquire,  as  cautiously  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  arouse  a 
dangerous  curiosity,  if  Wagh-ta  had  been  brought  to  the 
mansion  at  all.  Her  suspicions  were  fully  sustained  and 
justified  by  the  intelligence,  obtained  after  the  most  care 
ful  questioning,  that  not  one  of  all  the  servants  had  seen 
the  missing  girl  upon  the  premises.  In  some  secret 
prison  the  sweet  Prairie  Flower  drooped,  and  there  was 
nothing  now  for  Swallow  to  do,  as  she  thought,  but  to 
watch  the  only  hall  by  which  Scar  Face  could  escape 
from  his  room,  and  when  she  saw  him  issue  forth,  follow 
him,  and  thus  learn  the  whereabouts  of  the  captive. 
Taking  her  station  therefore  at  a  window  in  the  servants' 
quarters  where  she  could  command  this  whole  passage  with 


LITTLE   SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL.     193 

her  eyes,  she  made  herself  as  comfortable  as  possible  for  a 
watch  that  might,  as  she  correctly  surmised,  last  for  hours. 
While  Swallow  is  thus  watching  I  must  recall  one  little 
incident  in  her  life  showing  how  firm  of  nerve  and  strong 
of  purpose  she  was.  One  day,  when  she  was  a  little  girl, 
a  troop  of  us  had  gone  away  upon  the  prairies  in  search 
of  plovers'  eggs.  We  boys  having  our  moccasins  and  the 
girls  their  scarfs  full  of  them,  we  sat  down  under  a  clump 
of  bushes  to  rest  and  count  our  treasures.  Little  Swallow 
having  been  among  the  most  active  of  us  all  was  soon 
overcome  with  fatigue,  and  sank  back  upon  the  grass  as 
if  to  sleep.  When  we  had  gone  on  with  our  sport  for  a 
few  minutes,  my  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the 
horrified  look  upon  the  face  of  one  of  the  other  girls. 
She  had  clasped  her  hands  as  if  in  agony,  her  lips  were 
trembling  and  pale ;  and  her  eyes,  starting  from  their 
sockets,  were  turned  upon  Swallow.  I  followed  the 
direction  of  her  gaze,  and  saw  the  cause  of  her  horror. 
Creeping  across  Swallow's  tender  bosom  was  a  huge  cen 
tipede,  whose  sting  we  all  knew  was  a  painful  and  instant 
death.  Swallow,  who  was  now  wide-awake,  saw  her 
danger,  and  instantly  comprehending  that  her  only  safety 
was  in  perfect  silence  and  repose,  she  moved  not  a  muscle, 
allowed  not  a  nerve  to  tremble  or  a  cord  to  tighten,  while 
the  horrible  and  deadly  creature  crept  the  full  breadth  of 
her  bosom  and  across  one  beautiful  arm,  imprinting  with 
every  one  of  his  hundred  steps  a  burning,  festering, 
though  not  a  deadly,  sting.  This  ordeal  was  the  harder 
that  we  had  seen  but  few  of  these  creatures  around  our 
homes,  and  its  sudden  appearance,  if  not  its  terrible 
nature,  must  almost  certainly  have  startled  a  less  firm 
person  into  a  movement  or  exclamation  that  would  have 
been  instant  death.  Of  such  sterling  courage  is  an  Indian 
maiden  capable ! 


194  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

Thi  long  afternoon  passed  as  Swallow  sat  patiently 
at  tae  servants'  window,  and  the  twilight  began  to  hide 
slyly  among  the  trees,  yet  there  were  no  signs  of  the 
coming  forth  of  Scar  Face.  The  maiden  watched  until 
her  eyes  ached  so  that  she  scarcely  could  see  at  all,  and  at 
every  sound  which  might  by  any  possibility  be  a  footfall 
she  started  nervously,  as  she  might  have  done  had  the 
sudden  wail  of  the  panther  issued  from  behind  a  neigh 
boring  rock. 

When  she  had  given  up  all  hope  of  being  successful  in 
her  plan,  her  attention  was  arrested  by  the  shuffling  step 
of  some  one  approaching  from  the  wild  woods  which 
grew  around  the  cultivated  lawn  before  the  house.  A 
narrow  path  ran  through  these  woods,  almost  concealed 
by  the  heavy  overhanging  underbrush  and  lower  tree- 
boughs.  Swallow  fixed  her  attention  upon  this  path  and 
soon  saw  the  leaves  and  brush  waving,  and  then  they 
were  parted,  and  a  wrinkled  faced,  grizzly-haired,  and 
brow-bent  woman  stepped  forth.  She  was  apparently 
very  old.  Her  limbs  trembled  with  feebleness  as  she 
shuffled  along,  her  cheeks  were  sunken  and  pale,  and  hei 
eyes,  although  strangely  wild  and  bright,  looked  forth  from 
beneath  brows  which  made  the  fierceness  of  her  glance 
the  more  appalling.  As  she  walked  along  she  mumbled 
and  cast  a  wild  glance  about  her,  as  if  she  were  engaged 
in  some  hellish  work  of  witchery.  She  was  such  a  wretch 
as  in  the  simple  legends  of  my  people  is  supposed  to  sit, 
naked  and  horrible,  upon  the  rocky  edge  of  some  high 
cliff,  presiding,  with  a  demon's  glee,  over  the  bursting  of 
the  blizzard-hurricane,  and  laughing  horridly  so  as  to  be 
heard  in  the  pauses  of  the  tempest  when  the  wind  sweeps 
a  toil-made  village  into  a  moaning  ruin.  Swallow  in 
stinctively  determined  that  this  horrid  hag  had  something 
to  do  with  the  imprisonment  of  Wagh-ta,  although  she 


LITTLE   SWALLOW  TAKES  THE   TRAIL.     195 

could  not  imagine  from  what  dark  abode  of  sin  such  a 
foul  creature  could  have  arisen,  since  during  her  whole 
service  with  the  agent's  wife  she  had  never  seen  this  per 
son  about  the  house.  As  the  woman  opened  the  gate 
and  came  into  the  lawn,  Swallow  became  strangely  excited 
and  could  scarce  restrain  the  fierce  desire  to  burst  from 
her  hiding-place  and  grapple  with  the  hideous  accomplice 
of  Scar  Face,  as  she  already  regarded  her.  But  knowing 
that  the  safety  of  Prairie  Flower  depended  on  her  discre 
tion  and  presence  of  mind,  the  little  maiden  wrapped  her 
blanket  more  closely  around  her,  and,  still  barefoot, 
stole  cautiously  forth.  Hiding  under  the  dusk  shadow 
of  a  flowering  bush  until  the  woman  had  passed,  she  fell 
into  her  path  and  began  the  stealthy  tracking  of  her  steps. 
Swallow  thought  of  the  bloodhounds,  of  their  pertinacity 
and  endurance,  and  determined  to  be  like  them,  as  now 
she  had  taken  the  trail. 

The  woman  shuffled  toward  the  kitchen,  and  as  she 
disappeared  through  the  lighted  doorway  Swallow  dis 
covered  that  she  carried  a  basket  under  her  ragged  shawl. 
Hastily  running  forward  and  concealing  herself  behind 
the  kitchen  porch,  the  little  maiden  overheard  the  follow 
ing  short  conversation. 

"  What  do  you  say  you  want  ?"  asked  the  servant-girl. 

"  I  want  the  pastries  and  the  goodies  and  the  vittels 
as  the  young  master  ordered  ye  to  git  for  me,"  said  a 
whining  voice,  which  Swallow  supposed  was  that  of  the 
hag. 

"  What  do  you  want  of  such  good  things  as  these  cakes 
and  puddings  and  pies?"  said  the  girl. 

"  Don't  ye  suppose  I  likes  de//£v6acies  as  much  as  any 


un 


"  Where  do  you  live,  Aunt  Mollie,  anyway  ?    Why  do 
you  skulk  around  in  this  way?    Why  not  come  and  live 


196  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

with  the  other  white  folks  here — there  are  few  enough 
of  us — and  rest  your  bones  on  a  decent  bed,  instead  of 
wandering  around  through  the  woods  and  sleeping  at 
night  on  the  damp  leaves — as  they  say  you  do?  You 
only  have  one  life,  and  you  ought  to  make  the  most  of  it." 

"  Ah,  bah  !     Gim'me  the  vittels  and  the  goodies  as  the' 
young  master  ordered,  and  mind  yer  own  business — that's 
what  /say." 

"  But,  Mollie,  we  girls  all  pity  you.  In  the  bottom  of 
your  heart  isn't  there  one  bit  of  womanly  feeling — one 
wish  to  live  as  others  do  ?" 

"  Come,  come,  gal !  Does  yer  think  there  is  no  fun  but 
to  live  in  grand  houses  ?  Does  yer  think  the  only  thing 
worth  doin'  is  to  tread  carpits  and  sleep  in  beds  ?  Oh,  ye 
don't  know  what  Old  Mollie  lives  fer— ye  don't  know  that 
a  woman's  love  when  turned  bitter  is  stronger  than  when 
it  was  sweet.  Ye  never  saw  the  bright  pictures  in  a 
snake's  eyes  shinin'  in  the  night — ye  never  tasted  of  the 
honey  there  is  in  a  groan.  Oh,  ye  don't  know  what  life 
is,  gal !  I  hate  men,  and  I  hate  women,  and  when  I  kin 
do  an  ill  turn  I  do  it.  That's  me!" 

"You're  too  old  a  woman,  Mollie — 

"  Mind  yer  own  business  !" 

After  this  amiable  dialogue  there  was  a  silence  of  a  few 
moments  as  if  the  servant,  unable  to  influence  the  woman 
to  a  more  sensible  course  of  life,  were  filling  her  basket 
with  the  provisions  demanded.  Then  the  woman  came 
forth,  and  glancing  stealthily  around,  as  if  she  feared  pur 
suit,  took  her  way  toward  the  path  through  the  woods  in 
which  Swallow  had  first  seen  her.  The  little  Indian 
maiden  followed  with  a  soft  step  and  a  beating  heart. 

After  crossing  the  lawn  and  entering  the  woods,  Old 
Mollie  increased  her  gait  as  much  as  her  feeble  limbs 
would  permit ;  but  the  spry  little  Swallow  had  no  diffi- 


LITTLE  SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL.      19? 

culty  in  keeping  as  near  her  as  was  prudent.  The  stars 
peeping  silently  down  between  the  leaves  afforded  a  holy 
light  which  seemed  to  the  meditative  maiden  sadly 
polluted,  in  being  used  by  Old  Mollie  for  such  unholy 
purposes;  and  so  she  determined  to  redeem  back  the 
bright  radiance  to  Wakanda,  by  using  it  in  designs  of 
rescue,  as  well.  Oh  how  neutral  seem  Wakanda's  benefits, 
that  man  may  stamp  them  with  the  image  of  angel  or  of 
devil,  as  he  please  !  The  path  wound  down  into  a  thickly- 
wooded  defile,  and  at  right  angles  crossed  the  dry  bed  of 
a  small  stream.  Up  this  pebbled  water-course  the  old 
woman  unhesitatingly  took  her  way,  evidently  under 
standing  every  inch  of  the  ground  she  trod  upon.  The 
darkness  was  heavier  here,  the  stars  being  hidden,  and 
the  shrubs  and  branches  of  near  trees  overhung  their  way 
so  that  they  were  often  compelled  to  creep  in  order  to 
make  any  progress  at  all.  Swallow  found  it  necessary  to 
keep  within  a  few  feet  of  the  hag,  lest  she  should  lose  her 
in  the  darkness.  She  was  so  near  that  she  could  hear  the 
old  woman's  mumbling,  which  never  for  a  moment  ceased, 
and  in  the  silence  and  gloom  sounded  weird  and  awful 
enough. 

"Pretty  thing  to  be  a  doin',"  she  grumbled,  "packin' 
goodies  to  a  squaw !  And  I  has  to  pet  her  up,  has  I,  and 
tell  her  how  good  and  noble  the  young  master  is  ?  Pretty 
thing  that  he  couldn't  find  a  white  gal  to  love.  Sort  o' 
novelty  in  this  doin's,  I  expect.  H'm !  To  make  me 
foller  and  lead  around  this  away.  Pretty  thing  this." 

In  little  Swallow's  heart  was  a  strange  mixture  of  grief 
and  gladness  when  she  heard  these  words — grief  that  one 
bearing  a  woman's  shape  could  be  so  debased  by  sin  as  to 
cherish  such  an  unwomanly  hate  and  so  cruel  an  ambition 
— gladness,  because  her  words  implied  that  the  woman 
was  leading  the  way  to  the  prison  of  poor  Wagh-ta.  And 


1 98  PLOUGHED    UNDER. 

so  indeed  it  proved,  for  they  had  not  gone  far  before  Old 
Mollie  stopped  suddenly,  seemed  to  listen  intently  for  a 
moment,  and  then  producing  a  bunch  of  keys,  placed  one 
in  a  lock  the  bolt  of  which  flew  back  with  a  screech. 
Swallow  could  see  nothing,  but  she  heard  a  door  open  and 
the  scraping  of  a  pair  of  heavy  shoes  upon  the  step. 
While  she  was  puzzling  her  little  brain,  for  the  best  course 
of  action  to  pursue,  a  light  was  suddenly  struck  within 
the  hut  which  the  woman  had  evidently  entered,  and 
streaming  through  the  still  open  door,  and  the  wide 
cracks  between  the  rude  boards  of  which  the  building  was 
composed,  shone  brightly  upon  the  maiden.  Fortunately 
Old  Mollie's  back  was  turned  toward  the  door,  so  she  did 
not  discover  the  startled  little  spy  ;  and  Swallow  springing 
lightly  aside,  hid  in  the  bushes  that  were  nearest  at  hand, 
where  she  could  see  all  that  passed  within  the  hut  without 
being  seen  herself. 

A  brief  survey  revealed  that  the  building  was  simply 
a  shed  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  workmen  while 
constructing  the  agent's  mansion.  It  had  evidently  been 
removed  by  Scar  Face  to  this  hidden  spot,  that  it  might 
be  used  to  carry  out  his  sinister  plots.  The  hut  contained 
a  rude  table,  a  bed,  and  a  few  chairs,  upon  one  of  which 
sat  the  unhappy  Wagh-ta  in  agony  and  tears. 

"  Come,  honey,"  mumbled  the  old  woman,  as  she  placed 
her  basket  upon  the  table.  "  Come,  and  jest  taste  the 
goodies  and  the  vittels  as  the  good  young  master  has  sent 
ye.  Dry  yer  eyes,  honey,  for  many  is  the  nice  white  gal  as 
would  like  to  be  in  yer  place,  my  larkie.  Come  now,  and 
don't  pout  no  longer." 

Swallow  saw  the  wretched  captive  lift  her  head  indig 
nantly  as  if  to  reply,  but  having  no  heart  even  for  scorn 
she  let  her  chin  fall  upon  her  breast  and  betook  herself  to 
the  sad  refuge  of  tears  again.  Her  beautiful  hair  fell  over 


LITTLE  SWALLOW  TAKES.   'I HE   TRAIL.      199 

her  shoulders,  and  as  she  \vept  she  might  have  been  taken 
for  that  benign  and  lovely  spirit  who,  in  the  simple  legends 
of  my  people,  is  contrasted  with  the  storm-witch,  and  who 
is  represented  as  sitting  among  the  highest  tassels  of  the 
birch-tree,  sifting  her  tears  through  raven  tresses,  when 
the  evening  shower  weeps  in  the  sky. 

"  Come,  honey,"  Old  Mollie  mumbled  as  she  took  the 
eatables  from  the  basket ;  "  dry  yer  eyes,  now ;  there's  a 
larkie.  Don't  you  know  as  the  young  master  may  catch 
you  any  moment  in  them  ways !  Oh  !  he's  a  noble,  fine 
un,  he  is!  Generous  and — a — thoughtful,  and — a — fine! 
(Curse  it !  Old  Moll's  mouth  ain't  for  sweet  words !) 
That's  what  he  is.  Come  now,  eat  a  slice  of  this  cake. 
He  put  it  into  the  basket  for  ye  himself.  Try  a  bit  of  this 
lamb,  'tain't  no  tenderer  than  his  heart." 

And  the  old  wretch  chuckled  as  if  the  wit  in  her  last 
remark  pleased  her  not  a  little.  She  evidently  was  prid 
ing  herself  that  she  was  admirably  fulfilling  her  young 
master's  directions  to  present  his  character  in  the  most 
favorable  light. 

"  And  see,  honey,"  she  went  on,  with  a  grin  of  satisfac 
tion.  "  Here  is  some  bread  as  is  light  as  a  feather,  but  no 
lighter  than  his  sperrits.  You  knows  who  I  mean  by  his. 
And  here's  a  napkin.  Now,  don't  that  show  him  kind 
and — a — noble  and — a — fine,  to  send  a  napkin?  Come 
honey,  fetch  yer  chair.  The  young  master  as  is  so  fine 
wants  ye  to  eat  and  be  happy  and  well.  Come  now !" 

Wagh-ta  looked  up  through  her  tears,  as  if  to  make  a 
pcornful  refusal,  but  seeing  the  door  standing  open  and 
the  old  woman  busy  with  her  preparation  of  the  rude 
meal,  she  seemed  to  catch  a  hope  of  escape.  She  made 
one  or  two  nervous,  irresolute  steps  from  her  chair,  and 
then,  with  the  frightened  cry  of  a  hounded  fawn,  sprang 
toward  the  door.  But  the  old  hag,  although  she  shuffled 


200  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

awkwardly  along  a  footpath,  was  quick  enough  when 
occasion  demanded,  and  now,  with  a  sudden  bound,  she 
caught  the  poor  girl  before  she  could  reach  the  door,  and 
flung  her  violently  upon  the  floor. 

"Escape,  will  ye?  I  rather  guess  not,"  the  woman 
hissed. 

"  Foul  wretch  !"  the  unhappy  Wagh-ta  exclaimed,  lifting 
her  stunned  head  from  the  floor.  "  Is  there  no  woman 
hood  left  in  your  hard  heart  ?  Do  you  love  to  see  one  of 
your  own  sex  maltreated  and  outraged  ;  and  is  your 
highest  joy  to  help  on  such  cruel  work  ?" 

"  Come,  honey ;  work  yer  jaws  on  some  of  this  yere 
vittel,  and  not  on  empty  air." 

"  Oh  !  for  the  love  of  Wakanda,  for  the  love  of  thy 
mother,  for  the  love  of  thy  childhood  memories  of 
modesty  and  peace — oh  !  for  the  dear  sakes  of  these,  save 
me  from  this  cruel  man  !  Let  me  escape  to  my  people,  or 
kill  me  here  at  thy  feet;  but  save  me  from  this  awful 
fate.  Be  a  woman  for  a  moment.  Be  merciful !" 

"  Come,  honey,  this  yere  won't  swallow  no  longer.  Lay 
to  on  your  vittel  or  you  won't  get  none,  I  can  tell  ye. 
After  all  that  the  fine  young  master  has  sent  ye  too — how 
ingrateful  ye  be  !  Now  look  at  ye  !" 

The  heart-broken  maiden  was  truly  a  sight  to  look 
long  upon.  Crouching  upon  the  bare  planks  where  she 
had  fallen,  holding  her  bruised  head  in  her  hands,  weeping 
for  deep  shame  and  despair,  she  was  the  picture  of  abject 
woe.  Little  Swallow,  seeing  her  thus,  forgot  all  her 
jealousy  in  an  instant,  was  absorbed  with  a  real  and 
passionate  pity,  and  could  scarce  restrain  herself  from 
dashing  in  upon  the  unfeeling  jailer,  to  strike  her  to  the 
earth.  She  was  sure,  in  her  rage,  that  she  had  strength 
to  do  it.  But  she  could  not  tell  how  near  the  cruel  Scar 
Face  might  be ;  he  might  be  lurking  on  the  other  side  of 


LITTLE  SWALLOW  TAKES  THE  TRAIL.      201 

the  hut,  she  thought,  or  in  some  nearer  bunch  of  bushes  ; 
and  thus  she  considered  that  patience  would  be  more 
likely  to  succeed  than  rashness.  And  thinking  thus  she 
sank  back  into  the  shadow  and  strove  to  be  calm. 

"  He,  he  !"  chuckled  Old  Mollie  at  length  ;  "  if  ye  won't 
eat  the  goodies,  I  must  lay  to  myself,  for  it  would  be  a 
pity  to  waste  such  de//r£acies." 

And  as  she  greedily  munched  the  food  spread  before 
her,  the  woman  never  ceased  to  mumble  to  herself :  "  A 
sob  wipes  lots  out.  A  earnest  beg  wipes  more  out.  A 
ruined  soul  wipes  most  out.  That's  Old  Mollie's  mult'- 
plication  tables — that  is  !" 

Speedily  the  dainties  disappeared  down  her  hungry 
throat,  and  when  the  last  crumb  had  gone,  she  arose  and 
having  cast  one  stealthy  look  upon  poor  Wagh-ta,  who 
had  now  crept  painfully  back  into  the  corner,  carefully 
closed  and  secured  the  door.  In  another  instant  the 
light  went  out,  and  Swallow  could  hear  something  moving 
and  rattling  on  the  hard  boards  across  the  doorway,  as  if 
wretched  Mollie  were  laying  herself  down  to  her  amiable 
dreams.  Oh  !  as  I  write  can  it  be  that  among  the  white 
race  there  are  hearts  as  cruel,  and  once  innocent  lives  as 
seared  and  blasted,  as  those  of  Old  Mollie  were ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   PERIL   OF   PRAIRIE   FLOWER. 

AFTER  waiting  until  every  sound  had  subsided  within 
the  hut,  and  having  allowed  sufficient  time  for  the 
inhuman  jailer  to  become  sound  asleep,  little  Swallow 
stole  cautiously  forth  from  her  hiding-place  under  the 
bushes.  Her  heart  was  too  brave  to  be  frightened  by  the 
sharp  bark  of  the  wolf  prowling  along  the  slopes  of  the 
defile  in  the  depths  of  which  the  cabin  stood  ;  or  by  the 
melancholy  wail  of  the  wild-cat,  sounding  like  the  moan 
ing  and  praying  of  an  Indian  child  over  its  mother's  grave 
at  night.  She  feared  far  more  the  lawless  hand  of  the 
white  man.  She  trembled  to  think  that  Scar  Face  might 
be  watching  her  as  she  had  watched  his  accomplice,  and 
she  knew  that  he  might  with  impunity  shoot  her  down 
in  that  lonely  solitude — indeed  that  he  need  not  for  a 
moment  fear  that  he  would  be  punished  by  the  United 
States  law,  though  all  the  judges  and  lawyers  of  the  land 
should  hear  of  it.  She  therefore  picked  her  steps  very 
cautiously  to  the  corner  of  the  hut  where  she  knew  the 
wretched  Prairie  Flower  was  crouching,  and  stooping 
down  she  listened  intently  to  discover  whether  the  captive 
were  awake  or  not.  Low  sobs  and  struggling  moans 
reached  her  ears  from  within  the  hut,  mingled  with  the 
more  distant  heavy  breathing  of  some  one  in  deep  sleep. 
Swallow  thus  knew  that  the  maiden  was  awake  and 
bewailed  her  sad  lot,  while  the  cruel  woman  slept;  and 
therefore,  placing  her  lips  close  to  one  of  the  cracks  be 
tween  the  boards  of  which  the  hut  was  built,  she  whispered 
softly,  as  if  it  were  only  the  night  wind  blowing : 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLOWER.  203 

"Wagh-ta  wa-spa  !"* 

The  sobs  continued — the  sweet  night-wind  bringing 
hope  and  tidings  of  love  was  not  yet  heard. 

"  Wagh-ta    wa-spa !" 

"  Ka-gah  ?"t  was  the  inquiring  and  anxious  whisper  that 
came  from  within  the  hut. 

"  It  is  a  friend,  sweet  Prairie  Flower.  It  is  thy  little 
Swallow,  who  knows  of  thy  sorrows,  and  now  having  found 
thy  place  of  sad  confinement,  but  waits  to  save  thee." 

"  O  sweet  Swallow,  what  of  my  Wolf  Killer — what  of 
my  brave,  noble-hearted  husband  ?  Is  he  well  ?  And 
my  father,  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe  ?  Mourn  they  for  the 
wretched  Wagh-ta?" 

O  poor  little  Swallow!  How  thy  heart  was  rent  by  these 
questions!  How  the  old  love  came  up,  and  how  the 
strange,  strong  jealousy  tempted  thee  to  try  another 
falsehood,  to  put  down  thy  rival  and  gain  thy  love  !  But 
how  bravely  thou  didst  crush  down  the  tempter  and  cling 
to  thy  noble,  unselfish  purpose  ! 

"When  last  I  saw  them,  they  mourned  for  thee,"  Swal 
low  answered. 

"  And  were  they  well  ?" 

"  When  last  I  saw  them,  they  were  well." 

Oh  what  a  tempest  of  contending  passions  raged  in  the 
heart  of  little  Swallow !  Love  for  the  absent  Wolf  Killer, 
determination  to  persevere  in  her  pure  purpose  of  saving  his 
bride,  the  old  jealousy  and  hatred  of  a  rival,  and  the  fear 
that  if  Wagh-ta  should  know  of  her  father's  death  and 
her  husband's  insane  flight,  she  would  in  utter  despair 
take  her  own  life,  and  then  Wolf  Killer  would  charge  the 
deed  upon  her. 

"  But  why  came  not  Wolf  Killer  with  thee  to  help  in 
saving  his  bride  ?"  whispered  Wagh-ta. 

*  Gentle  Prairie  Flower.  t  "  Is  it  a  friend  ?" 


204  PLOUGHED  UNDER, 

Again  the  old  temptation  came  up  in  her  heart,  as 
the  misty  shadow  of  a  demon  rises  out  of  the  reedy 
swamp,  and  she  almost  spoke  the  words,  "He  is  false!" 
which  she  well  knew  would  end -the  happiness,  and  per 
chance  the  life,  of  the  captive.  How  easy,  the  tempter 
said,  now  to  gain  all  the  love  and  joy  for  which  thy  soul 
panteth  !  Speak  the  sentence — the  three  little  words — 
they  may  after  all  be  true  ;  speak  them !  Then  Wolf 
Killer  is  thine  ! 

She  looked  up  into  the  midnight  stars  which  had  now 
swept  into  their  places  and  were  shining  divinely  down 
upon  her.  Shall  she  speak  the  falsehood ;  dare  she,  in  the 
face  of  the  stars?  Is  not  this  the  very  light  which  but 
now  she  was  to  redeem  from  unholy  usages? 

"  Dear  Swallow,  are  you  there  ?  Why  did  not  Wolf 
Killer  come  with  thee?" 

"  Did  you  speak,  dear  Wagh-ta?  I  was  looking  at  the 
heavens.  He  could  not  come  with  me — he  tried  to,  but 
the  bloodhounds  were  set  upon  him." 

"  Oh,  he  is  safe — tell  me  he  is  safe  !" 

"Yes,  he  is  safe,  but  might  not  have  been,  had  he  come 
farther.  I  was  well  known  to  the  hounds  and  the 
employes  of  the  agent,  and  so  could  come  without  harm 
or  suspicion.  And  Wagh-ta — he — he — loves  you  as  ever." 

The  stars,  as  she  glanced  up  now,  shone  brighter  than 
she  had  ever  seen  them  do  before,  and  twinkled  cheerily 
of  all  the  honor  there  is  in  an  honest  conquest  of  self,  and 
seemed  to  throw  down  golden  wreaths  of  praise  for  her 
brave  and  truthful  words.  She  had  redeemed  back  their 
light  to  God. 

"  It  is  better  thus — it  is  better  thus,"  whispered 
Wagh-ta. 

"  Let  him  be  safe,  whatever  befalls  his  unhappy  bride. 
If  he  but  loves  me  I  am  content." 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLO  WER.  205 

"  But,  Wagh-ta,  did  Scar  Face  use  violence  in  bringing 
thee  thither?" 

"Think  you  I  came  willingly  ?" 

"  No  !  no !  but  did  he -use  physical  force  ?" 

"  Threats  against  my  noble  father,  whom  he  might  have 
ordered  to  be  shot,  were  the  inducements  he  offered.  He 
cruelly  taunted  me  with  the  Indian's  want  of  legal  pro 
tection,  and  charged  me,  as  I  valued  my  father's  life,  to 
make  no  disturbance  and  occasion  him  no  trouble.  Still 
I  had  died  in  sight  of  our  peaceful  village,  even  though  it 
had  caused  my  father's  death  as  well — for  the  wise  man 
would  have  preferred  that  to  shame — had  I  for  a  moment 
supposed  that  his  promise  to  place  me  in  his  mother's 
service  was  a  lie.  The  first  I  thought  of  any  personal 
cruelty  was  when  I  was  given  suddenly  into  the  clutches 
of  Old  Mollie,  who  dragged  me  hither." 

"  Hush  !  Wagh-ta,"  whispered  Swallow  from  without,  "  I 
hear  a  man's  footsteps  coming  up  the  dry  bed  of  the 
stream." 

"  Alas  !  it  must  be  the  cruel  Scar  Face.  O  Wakanda, 
spare  thy  child  !" 

"  Here !  Wagh-ta,  I  slip  my  hunting-knife  to  thee. 
Take  it,  and  defend  thyself.  I  go  to  thy  Wolf  Killer. 
We  will  come  to  save  thee." 

"Oh,  tell  him  Wagh-ta  says  '  Khta-we-tha ' *  to  him 
a  thousand  times — let  him  hear  her  say  it  in  every 
evening  wind  that  whispers,  and  every  wave  that  sighs." 

At  that  moment  a  heavy  knock  was  heard  upon  the 
door  of  the  hut,  and  the  voice  of  Scar  Face  exclaimed  : 

"  Here,  Old  Moll !  wake  up,  you  lazy  fossil,  and  let  your 
young  master  in." 

At  the  tones  of  his  dreaded  voice  little  Swallow  sank 

*"I  love  thee." 


206  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

down  lower  into  the  shadow  of  the  hut.  On  a  moment's 
reflection  she  changed  her  purpose  of  going  in  search  of 
Wolf  Killer,  rightly  deciding  that  her  presence  might  be 
needed  there,  and  that  the  mother  of  Scar  Face  would  be 
by  far  the  best  ally  in  case  any  help  was  necessary.  She 
therefore  found  a  place  where  she  could  hear  all  that  was 
said  within,  and  she  hoped  that  she  could  also  see  what 
took  place  when  the  lamp  was  lit. 

"  Comin',  master — comin',"  said  Old  Mollie,  as  she 
scrambled  to  her  feet.  "  Who'd  suppose  my  noble,  fine 
young  master  would  'a  come  this  time  of  night  to  see  his — 
Comin',  master,  comin'!" 

The  light  was  at  length  lit,  the  rude  door  flung  open, 
and  Scar  Face,  much  the  worse  for  liquor,  stalked  heavily 
into  the  room.  He  threw  his  hat  down  upon  the  table, 
planted  himself  upon  a  chair  directly  in  front  of  the  cor 
ner  where  poor  Prairie  Flower  still  crouched,  and  gazed 
insolently  into  her  beautiful  face.  The  wretched  girl, 
presuming  that  her  only  safety  lay  in  as  haughty  a  de 
meanor  as  she  was  able  to  summon  to  her  aid,  now  arose 
with  the  greatest  dignity,  and  folding  her  arms  upon  her 
bosom  with  that  queenly  grace  and  nobility  that  are 
natural  to  a  true  woman  in  every  sphere,  gazed  unawed 
upon  the  leering  face  of  her  drunken  captor.  It  was  the 
mystic  strength  of  purity  and  truth  matching  itself  against 
the  power  of  infamy  and  lust.  In  such  a  contest  the 
feeble  are  strong  and  the  mighty  become  weak.  Scar 
Face  felt  instinctively  that  between  him  and  the  fair 
Wagh-ta  there  rose  an  invisible  wall  which  he  could  no 
more  break  over  than  if  it  were  of  leaping  fire.  Still  he 
hoped  that  he  had  one  weapon  in  his  possession  which  he 
had  but  to  wave  over  that  wall  and  it  would  fall  in  cold 
ruins  upon  the  earth. 

The  fox  of  our  prairie  hills  has  a  passion  for  the  human 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLOWER.  207 

face.  Often  have  the  mothers  of  my  people  found  the 
animal  crouched  upon  the  ground  before  their  babes  that 
were  sleeping,  swinging  in  the  lower  tree-boughs.  The 
wild  eyes  gleamed  passionately  upon  the  little  quiet  hands 
and  nodding  heads;  the  lips  of  mock  fierceness  were 
parted,  trembling  with  some  strange  desire  ;  and  the  nos 
trils  moved  and  sniffed  as  if  the  sweetness  of  the  child's 
breath  were  fascinating  odor  to  them.  The  animal,  at 
such  times  rooted  to  the  spot  as  if  by  some  most  myste 
rious  passion,  could  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  be 
driven  away,  and  sometimes  even  would  be  content  to  die 
rather  than  forego  the  strange  pleasure  it  enjoyed.  It 
was  with  some  such  fascinated  look  that  the  man  gazed 
upon  my  tearful  but  haughty  Wagh-ta. 

"Well,  my  dearie,"  he  at  length  exclaimed,  endeavoring 
to  assume  some  dignity,  "has  Old  Moll  informed  you  of 
my  sincere  and  fervent  love  for  you  ?  Has  she  told  you 
that  I  desire  to  make  you  my  lawful  wife  ?  The  noble 
white  brant  will  ally  himself  with  the  little  red  thrush, 
There's  a  sentiment  for  you,  Moll,"  he  added,  aside,  to 
that  worthy,  "  that  would  do  honor  to  one  of  the  cussed 
red  orators,  hey?" 

"That  it  would,  young  master,  that  it  would.  As  I 
knows  anythin',  that  it  would!"  mumbled  the  literary 
critic  appealed  to. 

"  And  I  want  to  know,  dearie,"  continued  Scar  Face, 
"  whether  you  are  sensible  enough  to  become  my  wife 
willingly,  or  shall  I  be  forced  to  execute  the  intimations  I 
have  made  as  to  the  life  of  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe? ' 

Ah  !  here  was  the  weapon  which  was  to  beat  down  the 
wall,  and  place  my  lovely  bride  in  the  brute's  possession ! 

"  Scar  Face,"  exclaimed  Prairie  Flower,  with  all  the 
prairie-fire  angry  heat  blazing  in  her  eye,  "  I  despise  thee,  as 
thou  well  knowest,  and  I  defy  thcc  to  do  what  thou  darest. 


208  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

'     T».     .-  •/••«' 

In  spite  of  all  thy  plotting  and  all  the  cunning  of  thy 
villainous  assistant  there,  I  have  seen  one  of  my  people 
who  will  do  all  that  mortal  can  to  save  me  from  thy 
cruelty  or  to  punish  thee  by  the  white  man's  law  if  any 
harm  is  done  me  or  my  aged  father !" 

"  Ha !  ha !"  laughed  the  man,  "  the  white  man's  law ! 
Have  I  not  been  telling  you  that  that  law  takes  no  notice 
of  the  redskins  ?  The  Indian  has  never  even  been  recog 
nized  as  a  person  by  our  law.  The  white  man's  law,  in 
deed  !  Do  you  not  know  that  the  red  devils  have  often 
appealed  to  it  and  never  for  a  moment  been  heard?" 

My  poor  Wagh-ta  knew  this  only  too  well,  but  in  her 
despair  had  piteously  appealed  to  the  law,  vainly  hoping 
that  her  persecutor  might  not  recognize  how  useless  the 
appeal  would  be. 

"  Don't  you  remember  the  shooting  of  White  Feather  ?" 
sneeringly  continued  Scar  Face,  evidently  relishing  the 
hopelessness  his  words  were  forcing  upon  the  maiden's 
heart.  "  I  will  tell  you  about  it,  if  you  forget.  Two  chums 
of  mine  were  riding  toward  the  reservation,  to  make  me 
a  visit,  and  met  the  young  imp  you  called  White  Feather. 
Do  you  remember  now,  hey  ?  One  of  the  white  men  ban 
tered  the  other  to  shoot  this  specimen  of  your  filthy  race, 
and  a  revolver  ball  was  sent  crashing  cleanly  through  the 
Indian's  body.  Do  you  remember  all  this  ?  Ah  !  I  see 
you  do.  And  you  know  how  your 'people  sent  a  delega 
tion  to  D to  have  the  young  men  punished  by  the 

white  man's  law  that  you  speak  of.  Were  they  punished  ? 
Ha,  ha !  The  constable  could  not  even  arrest  them,  al 
though  he  saw  them  almost  every  day.  They  spent  a 
happy  summer  with  me,  and  returned  peacefully  home."  * 

Poor  WTagh-ta  knew  too  well  that  his  words  were  true, 

*  An  actual  occurrence. 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLOll'KR.  209 

and  her  head  fell  down  upon  her  breast  in  hopeless  fear — 
not  for  what  the  villain  before  her  could  make  her  suffer, 
but  for  the  dreadful  fate  and  infamy  he  could  bring  upon 
her  lather's  head. 

"  But  I  will  not  argue  with  such  as  you,"  exclaimed  Scar 
Face  angrily,  "  and  I  have  thoughtlessly  said  enough  to 
show  you  that  I  have  no  real  love  for  a  vile  Indian.  You 
know  my  purpose.  Submit,  or  by  all  the  powers  in  hell 
or  heaven,  your  father  shall  die  ignobly  and  painfully. 
Yes,  now  I  think  of  it,  I  will  practice  upon  him  some  of 
the  tortures  that  your  hellish  race  have  inflicted  upon  the 
whites." 

"  The  noble  Um-pan-nez-zhc,"  exclaimed  Wagh-ta, 
proudly  lifting  up  her  head,  "  can  die  without  a  groan. 
He  dies  gladly  to  save  his  daughter  from  the  taint  of 
shame," 

"  It  shall  not  save  you,"  fiercely  returned  the  man. 
'Already  I  have  the  half-breeds  of  the  tribe,  whom  you 
know  to  be  in  my  employ,  informed  of  the  part  they  are 
to  play  in  my  little  drama.  They  will  spread  a  more 
damning  report  of  your  shame  than  could  ever  otherwise 
be  concocted.  Submit,  or  your  father  dies,  and  dies  of 
shame  and  sorrow  for  his  daughter's  ruin." 

With  these  words  the  man  sprang  up  and  shook  his  fist 
savagely  at  the  wretched  girl,  who,  overwhelmed  by  the 
accumulation  of  villanies  and  calamities,  to  which  in  our 
simple  homes  she  had  been  so  unused,  crouched  down  in 
the  corner,  hid  her  face  in  her  woven  shawl,  and  sobbed 
aloud. 

"Submit!" 

As  he  spoke  the  word  a  little  figure  stole  in  at  the  open 
door,  sprang  into  the  space  between  the  villain  and  his 
intended  victim,  and  lifting  her  hand  in  an  attitude  of 
grace  and  dignity,  said  : 


210  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

"  Scar  Face,  thy  devilish  purposes  are  by  the  great 
Wakanda  defeated !  Wagh-ta,  thy  father  is  already 
dead  !" 

It  was  the  voice  of  Swallow,  who,  fearing  that  the  infa 
mous  scheme  of  Scar  Face  might  succeed,  had  rushed 
into  the  room  determined  to  rescue  Wagh-ta  by  the  reve 
lation  which  she  had  previously  in  tenderness  withheld. 
When,  however,  she  had  spoken  these  words,  she  darted 
past  Scar  Face  and  Old  Mollie,  who  sought  to  intercept 
her,  and  was  instantly  lost  in  the  darkness  without. 

At  this  dreadful  revelation,  made  as  by  the  sudden 
springing  of  a  kind  spirit  out  of  heaven,  Wagh-ta  dried 
her  tears  with  all  an  Indian  maiden's  fortitude,  and  rising 
caught  from  her  bosom  the  hunting-knife  that  had  been 
given  her,  and  said  : 

"  Wretch,  there  remains  no  harm  that  now  thou  canst 
do.  Come  but  a  step  nearer,  and  I  drive  this  knife  into 
my  heart.  Thou  sneerest !  I  know  that  would  be  but 
slight  punishment  to  thee,  but  it  would  save  the  daughter 
of  the  dead  Um-pan-nez-zhe  from  shame.  O  E-tha-di !  * 
E-tha-di !  thou  didst  call  thy  child  a  flower !  Alas  !  the 
bloom  of  her  youth  is  blighted  before  it  is  full-spread. 
Thou  didst  teach  her  many  wise  things  and  many  cunning 
works;  but  now  there  remainest  only  the  chance  to  use 
what  thou  didst  show  her  of  the  blade's  keen  point !  And 
thou  art  dead,  my  noble,  wise  father!  How  the  stars 
must  bend  and  weep  above  thy  grave !  Thy  Wagh-ta 
weeps  with  them,  O  E-tha-di !  E-tha-di !" 

I  can  fancy  how  my  beautiful,  heart-broken  bride  looked 
as  she  spoke  these  weeping  words.  Her  attitude,  always 
full  of  grace,  must  now  have  been  such  as  the  bright 
spirit  of  the  evening  sunset  assumes  when  she  waves  back, 

*  "Father!    Father!" 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLOWER.  211 

the  dark  clouds  that  seek  to  spring  above  the  horizon  to 
tarnish  her  loveliness.  Herflushedchceksandscornfuleyes, 
turned  full  upon  her  tormentor,  must  have  awed  him  into 
conviction  that  her  threat  of  taking  her  own  life  was  not  an 
emptyone.  Theheavingof  her  bosom  musthaveshown  the 
fierce  tempest  of  anguish  that  raged  within,  and  the  knife 
gleaming  over  it  must  have  revealed  how  gladly  that  brave 
spirit,  rather  than  be  defiled,  would  leap  away  through  a 
dagger-wound  into  Wakanda's  arms.  Oh  !  I  have  loved  her 
from  our  childhood,  and  in  my  fancy  of  her  as  she  thus 
bravely  stood  before  the  evil  man,  I  love  her  a  thousand 
fold  the  more. 

The  white  man  had  often  witnessed  the  calm  courage  of 
my  people,  and  knew  that  the  maiden  would  not  hesitate 
a  moment  to  plunge  the  knife  into  her  heart  if  he  gave 
her  but  that  one  hope  of  safety.  Awed  by  Wagh-ta's 
queenly  attitude,  and  half-stupefied  with  drink,  he  sank 
into  a  chair  as  if  unable  to  determine  what  course  to  pur 
sue.  He  seemed  unwilling  to  press  the  maiden  to  suicide, 
but  whether  he  was  influenced  by  any  lingeringtenderness 
or  nobility  of  heart,  or  merely  by  the  selfishness  of  evil 
passion  to  preserve  its  object,  I  know  not.  For  a  long 
time  he  sat  regarding  her,  his  lips  now  and  again  parting 
as  if  he  would  speak,  and  then  closing  without  uttering  a 
sound,  his  expression  of  face  being  a  singular  mixture  of 
dread,  admiration,  and  wonder. 

The  effect  of  my  poor  bride's  attitude  was  not  less  sin 
gular  and  marked  upon  the  debased  mind  of  Old  Mollie. 
Here  was  a  defiance  of  the  power  of  man  which  coincided 
with  her  own  ideas  ;  and  although  the  pleading  of  a  broken 
heart  could  not  stir  her  compassion,  such  an  exhibition  of 
spirit  as  this  excited  her  regard.  There  had  been  some 
dark  transactions  in  the  poor  woman's  history  which  had 
imbittered  her  against  the  whole  race  of  man,  and  when 


212  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

he  could  be  spited  or  agonized  by  the  ruin  of  one  even  of 
her  own  sex  she  scrupled  not  to  lend  her  aid  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  sinister  purpose.  Yet  when  her  linger 
ing  admiration  of  dignity  and  purity  was  appealed  to  from 
the  side  of  her  hatred  of  man,  as  she  imagined  it  to  be  in 
this  case,  it  was  still  capable  of  asserting  a  semblance  of 
its  rightful  power. 

"This  is  gran'!  this  is  gran'!"  she  mumbled.  "Old 
Moll  ain't  so  far  lost  as  she  can't  understan'  what  is  gran' 
and  what  isn't.  The  young  master  ain't  no  match  for  her, 
nor  Old  Moll  ain't  neither.  Them  arms — them  eyes  ! 
Blest  if  she  don't  pay  up  heaps  of  Old  Moll's  score  against 
the  whole  pack  o'  men  by  jest  a-standin'  there.  I  almost 
would  save  her  yet  because  she  does  it.  I  almost  would 
help  her  agin'  the  young  master  yet." 

It  was  singular  to  notice  how  the  calm  resolution  of  the 
feeble  girl  conquered  the  malice  of  one  tormentor  and 
overawed  the  passion  of  the  other.  For  a  long  time 
neither  of  the  incongruous  group  moved  or  made  the 
slightest  noise.  Wagh-ta  still  held  her  hunting-knife  in 
her  hand,  and  stood,  partly  turned  from  Scar  Face,  proudly 
looking  down  at  him  over  her  upraised  arm.  The  white 
man  sat  stupid  and  motionless  in  his  chair,  feeling  him 
self  strangely  conquered  by  one  who  was  to  have  been  his 
victim.  Old  Mollie  leaned  over  the  rough  table,  her  hands' 
resting  upon  it,  and  stared  in  mute  astonishment  into  the 
Indian  girl's  face,  subdued  by  the  feeling  that  there  were 
ideas  and  emotions  represented  in  that  rough  room  which 
she  could  by  no  means  understand.  Such  is  the  power 
that  the  spectacle  of  courage  exerts  over  the  human  mind 
— such  the  awe  awakened  by  the  conviction  of  the  imma 
nence  of  death.  It  is  the  simple  belief  of  my  people  that 
when  the  Spirit  of  Death  casts  his  shadow  over  an  indi 
vidual,  although  he  be  not  stricken  down,  he  is  rooted  to 


THE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  I<  LOWER.  213 

the  spot  whereon  he  stands  and  is  stiffened  in  the  attitude 
he  at  the  moment  had  assumed,  whether  erect  upon  the 
hill-top,  or  crouching  in  the  valley,  or  sitting  beside  the 
camp-fire,  and  is  not  able  to  cast  off  the  spell  until  a  day 
and  a  night  have  passed.  Such  a  spell,  it  seems,  had 
fallen  upon  the  group  in  the  shed  that  sorrowful  night. 

And  the  spell  might,  perhaps,  have  continued  through 
its  allotted  time,  had  not  Wagh-ta  at  length  conceived 
that  Wakanda  had  cast  this  awe  upon  her  captors  in 
order  to  favor  her  escape.  The  instant  she  thought  of 
this  she  made  a  second  spring  toward  the  door.  Ah ! 
thus  the  spell  was  broken.  Thus  the  momentary  kindli 
ness  in  Old  Mollie's  heart  was  driven  forth,  and  the  old 
malice  rolled  back  in  bitter  waves.  Springing  upon  the 
little  maiden  before  she  could  possibly  reach  the  door,  the 
hag  bore  her  to  the  floor  and  easily  wrenched  the  knife 
out  of  her  hand. 

"  Number  two,  my  honey,"  the  woman  said  as  she  flung 
Wagh-ta  into  the  corner  again.  "  Old  Moll  guesses  ye 
won't  try  to  excuse  yerself  from  us  agin — else  ye'll  get  a 
broken  head.  An'  ye  won't  kill  yerself  so  bravely,  now 
that  I've  got  the  knife.  Me  and  my  young  master  ain't  to 
be  trifled  with  more'n  once  or  twice,  I  can  tell  ye." 

"  No,  we're  not !"  exclaimed  Scar  Face,  who  had  now 
recovered  his  senses  and  was  wild  with  rage.  "  Curses  ! 
curses  upon  you!"  he  yelled  as  he  caught  up  a  chair, 
wielded  it  above  his  head  and  sprang  upon  the  girl.  "I 
will  teach  you  who  you  are  defying.  I  will  show  you 
whom  you  despise.  I  will — " 

"  My  son  !"  said  a  sad  voice  at  the  door.  "  My  son  !  my 
son !" 

Waghta  lifted  up  her  eyes  and  saw  the  mother  of  Scar 
Face  standing  in  the  door  of  the  shed.  Her  hand  was 
held  by  little  Swallow,  who  had  hastily  aroused  her  from 
her  bed,  and  conducted  her  with  all  speed  to  the  rescue  of 


214  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

poor  Prairie  Flower.  Her  face  was  pale  but  calm,  and  her 
sad,  sad  voice  sounded  like  the  moan  of  the  night-wind. 

Scar  Face  turned  upon  her,  and  at  sight  of  her  well- 
remembered  features,  his  passion  seemed  to  be  whetted 
to  insanity. 

"  God  in  heaven !"  he  cried,  "  how  came  you  here  ?" 

"  My  son  !  my  son  !"  was  all  the  poor  mother  could  say. 

He  foamed,  like  a  wild  beast,  upon  her  for  a  moment, 
and  then  with  a  half-cry,  half-moan,  as  if  impelled  by  some 
horrible  spirit  that  could  not  be  shaken  off,  sprang  toward 
her,  and  with  one  blow  of  the  uplifted  chair  felled  to  the 
earth  the  form  that  had  given  him  life.  The  moment  the 
blow  was  struck  he  came  to  himself,  and,  horrified  beyond 
measure  by  what  he  had  done,  dropped  the  chair  heavily 
to  the  floor  and  sank  down  over  the  prostrate  form  of  his 
mother. 

"O  mother,  mother!  Forgive  me — do  not  die — you 
cannot  leave  me  in  hopeless  darkness !"  he  moaned. 

"  My  son  !  my  son  !"  the  bloodless  lips  murmured,  and 
the  poor  mother  was  dead. 

When  Wagh-ta  stood  irresolute  in  the  corner  where  she 
had  been  thrown,  Swallow  crossed  the  room,  caught  her 
by  the  hand,  and  led  her  swiftly  out.  They  paused  a 
moment  when  they  had  gained  the  darkness  of  the  bushes, 
and  looking  back  saw  the  wretched  murderer  bending 
motionless  over  his  mother's  body  ;  and  the  night  wind  as 
it  freshened  into  the  breeze  which  always  heralds  the 
morning  on  the  prairies,  moaned  and  sobbed  round  the 
angles  of  the  shed  and  started  away  through  the  tangled 
bushes  to  join  the  ceaseless  wail.  As  they  stood  listening, 
Old  Mollie  went  stumbling  and  mumbling  by  them,  hurry 
ing  as  fast  as  her  trembling  limbs  would  permit  from  that 
dreadful  spot.  When  she  had  gone  the  Indian  girls  took 
the  opposite  direction,  and  were  soon  lost  from  view 
among  the  sage-brush  and  hazel-bushes. 


FIIE  PERIL  OF  PRAIRIE  FLOWER.  215 

As  I  think  of  this  escape  of  my  bride  from  the  clutches 
of  the  white  man,  I  remember  what  I  once  saw  upon  the 
prairie  near  my  childhood  home.  One  winter  day  when 
the  snow  lay  several  inches  deep  upon  the  hills,  I  was 
hunting  with  my  bow  for  a  rabbit  or  quail,  that  my  father 
might  have  a  tender  bit  when  he  returned  from  more 
daring  exploits.  I  had  wandered  into  a  nestling  valley, 
in  which  grew  a  number  of  little  clumps  of  wild-thorn 
and  furze  bushes.  My  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by 
the  shadow  of  a  great  bird  upon  the  snow,  and  looking  up 
I  saw  a  magnificent  dun-spotted  eagle  circling  grandly 
in  mid-air  and  evidently  scenting  prey.  At  length  he 
paused  in  his  flight,  hovered  for  a  moment  upon  his  wide 
wings,  uttered  a  scream  of  victory,  and  then  dashed  head 
long  into  the  center  of -one  of  the  thorn  clumps  I  had  seen. 
As  he  struck  the  bushes  a  spray  of  light  snow  fell  from 
their  branches,  and  out  of  this  spray  sprang  a  little  rabbit 
which  had  been  hiding  under  the  bush.  The  frightened 
creature  dashed  for  his  life  across  the  snow  and  made 
good  his  escape,  while  the  cruel  bird,  which  had  hoped  to 
make  a  meal  upon  him,  remained  entangled  in  the  thorns, 
his  grand  feathers  torn  and  broken  and  his  sharp  eyes 
wild  with  pain  ;  and  the  more  he  struggled  to  be  free  from 
the  ruin  he  had  wrought  for  himself,  the  thicker  fell  his 
blood-drops  upon  the  snow.  There  I  left  him,  thinking  it 
Wakanda's  will  that  he  should  thus  of  his  own  wickedness 
perish.  Thus  did  Scar  Face  fall  a  victim  to  his  own 
unholy  designs.  He  thought,  in  the  greatness  of  his 
strength,  to  make  an  easy  prey  of  the  poor  Indian  girl, 
but  the  Wakanda  who  can  save  a  rabbit  out  of  an  eagle's 
claws,  brought  to  naught  his  guilty  purposes  ;  and  as  his 
soul  bled  upon  the  thorns  of  unrestrained  hate  and  pas 
sion,  he  had  but  himself  to  be  angry  with.  And  my  little 
rabbit  sped  over  the  ground  to  me, 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

RETURNING    REASON. 

MEANWHILE  upon  the  shores  of  that  distant  lake  among 
the  snowy  hills  were  being  enacted  certain  things  that  I 
should  tell  you  of. 

When  I  felt  myself  borne  into  the  lake  in  the  arms  of 
the  insane  white  man,  I  realized  how  futile  would  be  any 
struggle  against  his  superhuman  strength.  I  therefore 
supposed  it  to  be  Wakanda's  wish  that  I  should  resign 
myself  to  inevitable  death.  The  moment  we  sank  into 
the  cold  waters,  however,  I  felt  his  fearful  grasp  relax,  in 
obedience  to  that  natural  instinct  of  self-preservation  of 
which  the  wise  Standing  Elk  had  told  us,  and  which 
perchance  is  not  totally  lost  even  in  minds  the  most  com 
pletely  shattered.  Having  lived  since  infancy  upon  the 
shores  of  the  darkly  flowing  Missouri,  and  being  as 
thoroughly  at  home  in  the  water  as  upon  the  land,  I 
instantly  improved  the  opportunity  of  escape  thus  afforded, 
and  by  exerting  all  my  power  I  succeeded  jn  throwing 
the  maniac  off  after  a  terrific  struggle  which  beat  the 
bright  waters  into  such  white  waves  as  might  have  been 
found  in  the  death-conflict  of  rival  buffaloes. 

Being  thus  freed,  it  was  the  work  of  a  moment  only  to 
swim  ashore,  and  when  I  had  clambered  upon  the  rocks 
again,  I  turned  to  discover  the  fate  of  the  white  man.  The 
lake,  like  nearly  all  of  those  found  in  the  mountains,  had 
steep,  rocky  banks,  so  that  the  water  was  very  deep  only 
a  few  steps  from  the  shore.  In  those  clear  depths  the 
white  man  had  gone  down,  and  I  could  see  the  bubbles 


A'E  77  'A'AYA'c;  RE  A  SON.  2  1 7 

rising  to  the  surface  and  bursting  brightly  there,  just 
above  where  he  was  lying.  I  can  even  now  remember  that 
in  some  confused  way  those  bursting  bubbles  on  the  bright 
surface  above  the  secret  slime  where  a  life  was  going  out 
seemed  to  my  untutored  mind  to  afford  sad  illustrations 
of  how  strangely  joy  and  beauty  could  be  so  plentiful  above 
and  around  me  when  my  heart  within  was  dying  of  pain 
and  agony  But  my  main  thought  at  the  moment  was 
for  the  perishing  man — should  I  rescue  him  or  leave  him 
to  die  ?  Might  not  I  avenge  the  ruin  of  Wugh-ta,  and  that 
without  actually  staining  my  hands  with  blood,  by  allow 
ing  him  to  remain  as  he  was?  The  temptation  came 
fiercely  upon  me,  and  I  paced  like  a  caged  animal  up  and 
down  upon  the  rocks.  "  No  tree,"  the  Evil  Spirit  said,  ""will 
ever  tell  of  it  in  its  rustling,  no  wave  will  ever  whisper  it, 
no  eye  but  that  of  yonder  eagle,  which  would  gladly  be  a 
fellow  in  such  sport,  is  upon  thee.  And  then,"  it  went  on 
to  say, "  how  can  you  tell  that  the  insane  man,  even  if  saved, 
will  not  dash  again  upon  you  and  succeed  in  taking  your  life' 
Is  it  not  self-protection  to  let  him  die — at  most  is  it  not 
merely  remaining  passive  and  allowing  him  to  perish  in 
the  ruin  he  has  wrought  for  himself?"  But  at  that  solemn 
moment  all  the  teaching  of  the  good  Wa-ga-za,*  all  the 
great  words  pi  the  wise  Um-pan-nez-zhe,  all  the  impulses 
of  kindness  which  are  naturally  in  every  heart,  and  all  the 
strange  awe  there  is  in  the  feeling  that  the  eye  of  Wakancla 
blazes  out  of  the  sky  upon  every  deed,  came  down  upon  me, 
and  I  plunged  into  the  lake.  I  know  there  are  great  papers 
printed  every  day  for  the  white  man  which  say  that  the 
Indian  is  incapable  of  an  act  of  kindness;  I  know  that  the 
most  cruel  falsehoods  are  published,  so  that  even  the  kind- 
hearted  among  our  oppressors  think  we  go  to  war  many 

*  Missionary. 


2.1 8  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

times  when  we  do  not ;  and  I  know  that  we  have  no  means 
of  denying  these  bitter  things,  since  no  public  prints  herald 
the  red  man's  story.  But  I  must  write  what  is  true,  trust 
ing  that  some  day  you  will  find  it  to  be  so. 

By  diving  down  into  the  waters  of  the  lake,  I  was,  at 
last,  able  to  catch  the  white  man's  sleeve,  and  so  I  raised 
him  to  the  surface  and  dragged  him  to  the  shore.  I  laid 
him  first  upon  his  face,  so  that  the  water  could  run  from  his 
mouth  ;  and  when  he  began  to  gasp  and  breathe,  having 
prepared  a  bed  of  the  last  year's  pine-fringes  under  a 
neighboring  tree,  I  placed  him  on  it  as  tenderly  as  a 
loving  son  would  care  for  a  father.  I  found  a  strange 
delight  in  tending  him,  for  all  my  hatred  had  died  out,  and 
I  fancied  I  might  come  into  deeper  sympathy  with  Wa~ 
kanda  E-zhi-ga*  by  succoring  one  who  was  helpless 
and  distressed.  And  as  I  stood  beside  the  deep,  bright 
lake  and  saw  the  place  where  the  bubbles  had  been  burst 
ing,  I  thought  that  the  white  man  had  not  been  deeper  in 
the  waves  than  I  had  been  in  ignorance  and  sin  when  He 
came  to  rescue  me  and  my  simple-hearted  people. 

It  was  several  hours  before  he  opened  his  eyes.  I  sat 
and  watched  him,  tracing  the  lines  of  pain  and  sadness  in 
his  face,  and  studying  the  long,  matted  gray  hair  that  fell 
in  heavy  coils  upon  the  pine-fringes.  His  ,face  still  re 
tained  traces  of  noble  and  ingenuous  qualities,  h  is  forehead 
was  high  and  broad,  and  the  more  I  noted  the  shades  of 
expression  upon  the  features,  the  more  thoroughly  could 
I  believe  him  to  have  been,  once  at  least,  and  before  the 
fierce  fires  of  disease  had  burned  out  the  powers  of  his 
mind,  a  refined  and  honorable  man.  The  Indian  is  made, 
by  all  the  training  of  the  hunt,  a  close  observer,  and  hence 
I  noticed,  and  with  the  greatest  interest  and  amazement, 

*  God's  Son. 


RETURNING  REASON.  219 

that  his  face  exhibited  signs  of  pain  and  anger  as  he  slowly 
recovered  his  senses,  as  if  he  would  gladly  have  remained 
in  the  arms  of  a  sweet  unconsciousness. 

Slowly  and  gloriously  the  mountain  twilight  came  down 
upon  us,  and  when  its  golden  wings  were  just  full-spread 
above  the  pine-tops,  the  white  man  opened  his  eyes  and 
gently  said : 

"  Where  am  I  ?    What  is  it  ?    What  has  happened  ?" 

"  You  are  with  a  friend,"  I  answered,  "  and  you  are  verv 
weak.  You  must  sleep  if  you  can." 

"  Where  is  Ben  ?"  he  asked. 

"I  have  not  seen  him.  But  he  will  soon  come,"  I  re 
plied  at  hazard. 

Then  followed  a  long  pause,  in  which  the  white  man 
gazed  calmly  up  through  the  pine  branches  into  the  stars, 
and  I  fervently  and  sincerely  thanked  Wakanda  that  the 
man's  mind  seemed  to  have  returned  to  him  again. 
The  music  of  the  night  was  just  beginning  to  burst  forth, 
and  the  scratching  of  the  eagle's  claws  upon  the  purple 
rocks  far  up  the  peak  entered,  with  the  shrill  cry  of  the 
stray  wolf,  into  the  harmony  as  if  they  had  a  part  to  play 
which  could  by  no  means  be  omitted. 

"  What  is  that  sound  I  hear?"  whispered  the  white  man 
at  length. 

"  What  does  it  sound  like?"  I  said. 

"  Like  the  running  of  the  waters  of  the  old  mill-race  at 
home  over  the  dam  of  beech-logs." 

"  It  is  the  wind  in  that  pine  tree  standing  there  upon 
the  rocks:" 

"  But  on  this  other  side  I  hear  a  sound  precisely  like  it 
— is  there  another  pine  in  that  direction  ?" 

"  No,  a  mountain  brook  runs  along  there  into  the  lake. 
The  running  of  its  waters  over  the  rocks  makes  the  same 
sound  as  the  wind  in  the  pine-top." 


220  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  How  strange — and  one  seems  to  answer  and  echo  the 
other." 

"  Yes,*""  I  said,  "  they  are  the  voices  of  the  Twin  Brothers. 
Did  you  ever  hear  what  my  people  say  of  them  ?  There 
were  once  two  noble-hearted  brothers,  who  were  twins. 
They  loved  the  same  beautiful  maiden,  and  she  loved  both 
so  well  that  her  heart  could  not  make  choice  between 
them.  One  day  the  maiden  was  in  the  quiet  woods 
puzzling  her  heart  as  to  which  she  loved,  when  she  heard 
their  voices  calling  her,  one  from  one  side  and  one  from 
the  other.  '  Khta-we-tha  !  '*  sang  one  upon  the  right  hand. 
'  Khta-we-tha ! '  sang  the  other  upon  the  left  hand.  And 
their  voices  were  so  exactly  alike  that  the  poor  maiden 
could  not  distinguish  who  was  here  and  who  there. 
Frantic  with  love  and  agony,  she  cried  aloud  :  '  O  Wakan- 
da,  tear  my  poor  heart  asunder,  and  give  half  to  each  of 
my  noble  lovers  ! '  And  there  in  the  quiet  woods  the 
maiden  died.  The  brothers  were  so  smitten  with  sorrow 
that,  upon  their  praying  most  earnestly  to  Wakanda,  they 
were  changed,  the  one  to  a  noble  pine  tree,  and  the  other 
to  a  mountain  brook.  And  to  this  day  the  pine  sadly 
whispers  in  the  wind  '  Khta-we-tha ! '  while  the  brook 
moans  the  same,  •  Khta-we-tha  ! '  and  it  is  still  impossible 
for  a  man,  listening  at  a  little  distance,  to  distinguish 
which  brother  is  singing  upon  the  right,  and  which  upon 
the  left.  So,  white  man,  you  hear  to-night  the  music  of 
the  Brothers.  And  hearing  it,  sleep." 

His  heavy  eyelids  slowly  and  dreamily  closed,  and  he 
slept.  I  covered  him  with  my  blanket,  and,  having  built 
a  fire  against  a  fallen  pine-log,  I  sat  for  hours  and  watched 
the  light  playing  upon  his  pale  face.  I  was  calm  and 
almost  soothed  from  my  grief.  What  strange  power  is 

*"I  love  thee  !" 


RE  TURNING  RE  A  SON.  2  2 1 

there  in  an  exercise  of  sympathy  to  allay  the  agony  of 
sorrow ;  what  spell  is  there  in  the  doing  of  a  kindness  to 
one  of  our  own  nature  that  causes  us  to  forget  the  gall  in 
our  cup  and  the  aching  of  our  heart-sore  ?  That  it  is 
so,  who  that  has  suffered  and  has  shown  charity 
to  the  suffering  can  doubt  ?  And  that  it  is  so  seems  to 
show  me  what  great  inducements  the  good  Wakanda 
offers  that  man  should  more  succor  his  distressed  brother. 
As  I  thought  much  of  this  beside  the  glowing  fire  that  night, 
it  seemed  to  me  that  surely  the  white  men  could  never 
have  suffered  much,  nor  ever  have  felt  the  pang  of  slavery 
and  the  bitterness  of  oppression ;  else  they  would  more 
readily  grant  charity  of  speech,  thoughtful  patience,  and 
brotherly  encouragement  and  assistance  to  the  red  men. 
The  waning  moon  looked  down  at  me  through  the 
tangled  branches  as  I  thus  thought,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  in  its  shimmering  beams  Wakanda  was  lighting  upon 
me  a  smile  of  commendation  and  hope. 

"  Halloo,  there,  my  friend !"  suddenly  exclaimed  the 
voice  of  my  charge. 

I  started — it  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  not  slept :  but 
now  the  full  morning  had  come;  the  fire  lurked  under 
a  heap  of  gray  ashes,  just  as  the  rising  sun  seemed  to  hide 
behind  the  dew  clouds ;  the  healthful  fragrance  of  forest 
and  flowered  plain  was  fully  abroad,  and  the  august  peaks 
reared  themselves  where  heavy  blackness  had  but  now 
reigned  supreme.  I  roused  myself  and  went  to  him.  He 
had  raised  himself  to  a  sitting  posture,  and  seemed  to  be 
suffering  very  little  inconvenience  from  his  temporary 
insanity  and  cold  bath. 

"Sit  down  beside  me,"  he  said,  "and  tell  me  how  I 
came  here?  Where  did  you  find  me,  and  from  what  did 
you  rescue  me  ?" 

"  I  found  you  about  twelve  feet  under  water  in  yonder 


222  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

lake,  and  so  you  can  easily  imagine  what  I   saved  you 
from." 

"  In  yonder  lake  !     And  how  came  I  there  ?" 

I  related  to  him  how  I  had  awakened  from  sleep  and 
found  him  glaring  upon  me.  I  repeated  his  words  and 
described  with  what  a  mad  rush  he  had  run  with  me  into 
the  lake. 

"  Great  God !"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  must  have  been 
insane." 

He  relapsed  into  silence,  and  a  strange  look  of  chagrin 
and  dismay  came  into  his  face.  Is  it  regarded  as  a  dis 
grace  among  the  white  people  for  a  man  to  lose  his  mind  ? 
Among  our  simple  nations  one  so  afflicted  is  with  the 
greatest  tenderness  nursed,  and  in  many  instances  even 
regarded  as  favored  by  constant  communications  with 
the  other  world.  And  it  is  a  singular  fact,  which  may, 
perhaps,  be  partially  accounted  for  by  this  gentle  custom, 
that  very  few  cases  of  violent  insanity  occur  amongst  us. 
There  may  be  something— I  do  not  know — in  the  dread  a 
white  man  would  naturally  feel  at  the  approach  of  this, 
to  him,  humiliating  affliction,  to  spur  the  shattered  mind 
to  excess  and  ferocity. 

"At  all  events,"  I  replied,  "you  are  well  now,  thank 
Wakanda!  And  while  I  am  getting  such  food  as  I  can, 
you  had  better  rest  on  your  bed  of  pine-fringes." 

"  But  I  am  not  quite  right  yet,  it  seems,"  he  answered 
with  a  puzzled  look.  "  Have  I  ever  done  you  any  kind 
ness  ,  do  you  feel  under  obligation  to  me,  that  you  show 
me  such  attention  ?  I  did  not  know — I  confess  it — that 
an  Indian  would  save  the  life  of  a  white  man  when  he  had 
him  in  his  power." 

"There  are  many  evil  men  among  the  Indians,"  I  said, 
biting  my  lip  that  I  might  speak  calmly,  "who  would  not 
have  saved  your  life;  and  the  Great  Father's  people  will 


RETURNING  REASON.  223 

not  be  convinced  that  we  are  not  all  cruel  and  revengeful. 
Would  you  like  to  be  spit  upon  as  a  thief,  because  some 
steal  who  have  a  pale  cheek?" 

"  Assuredly  not,"  he  said,  "  assuredly  not.  But  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  proportion  of  the  evil-disposed  is  much 
greater  among  the  Indian  than  among  the  white  race." 

"  This  is  because  you  are  always  informed  of  the  cruel 
acts  of  my  people,  while  the  many  kindnesses  shown  to 
the  whites,  the  frozen  feet  that  are  warmed  in  our  tepees, 
the  hungry  tongues  that  are  satisfied  by  our  camp  fires, 
and  the  brotherly  words  of  welcome  we  give,  find  no 
report.  The  Indian  is  human,  and  no  more.  Touch  his 
heart  with  kindness,  and  it  will  be  kind ;  touch  it  with 
encouragement,  and  it  will  wish  eagerly  to  become  civilized; 
touch  it  with  suspicion  or  coldness,  and  it  retreats  within 
itself ;  touch  it  with  cruelty,  and  cruelty  springs  forth  out 
of  it.  You  have  seen  the  flint  arrow-heads  our  fathers 
fashioned — do  you  know  how  the  hard  stone  was  chipped 
so  smoothly  and  beautifully  away?" 

"  I  do  not,  indeed ;  I  believe  the  secret  of  this  process  is 
one  of  the  deep  puzzles  of  learned  men  to-day." 

"It  is  a  simple  secret.  A  sharp  blow  upon  the  flint 
would  either  have  broken  the  stone  into  shapeless  bits,  or 
called  forth  a  spark  of  fire.  So  my  people  were  accus 
tomed  to  press  the  flint  gently  and  patiently  with  small 
sticks  of  hickory  wood  hardened  in  the  fire,  and  thus,  by  de 
grees,  the  rough  chips  fell  away,  and  the  arrow-heads  were 
beautifully  shaped  and  sharpened.  The  Indian's  heart  is 
flint.  To  shape  it  for  use  there  must  be  no  violence,  but 
the  most  gentle  kindness  and  patience." 

Meanwhile  I  prepared  such  wild  vegetables  as  I  could 
find  for  our  simple  meal,  and  set  them  before  the  white 
man,  who  ate  with  much  eagerness.  They  tasted  sweet 
upon  my  own  tongue  as  well,  after  a  fast  of  many  days, 


2*4  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

and  were  strangely  sweeter  because  I  had  the  conscious 
ness  of  doing  what  is  right. 

The  white  man  seemed  very  feeble  after  the  severe 
strain  he  had  been  under,  and  so,  after  his  hunger  had 
been  satisfied,  I  busied  myself  in  providing  a  softer  bed  for 
him  to  rest  on.  When  he  was  made  comfortable,  he  said  : 

"  Thank  you,  thank  you,  my  friend.  I  am  easy  now. 
Tell  me  of  your  own  life  ;  how  came  you  to  be  here  among 
the  rocks  alone  ?" 

Oh,  how  all  the  flood  of  sorrow  rolled  again  upon  my 
soul  when  he  asked  this  question  !  It  was  some  moments 
before  I  could  speak.  At  last,  when  I  could  command 
my  voice,  I  told  him  my  whole  life:  of  my  love  for  the 
beautiful  Wagh-ta ;  of  our  peaceful  dwelling-place  beside 
the  shining  river ;  of  the  evil  man's  plot  against  my  bride ; 
of  how  there  was  no  law  by  which  I  could  have  the  wretch 
punished  ;  and  of  my  wild  flight  across  prairie  and  river 
to  the  rocks.  Again  and  again  he  interrupted  me  with 
exclamations  of  indignation  and  wonder,  and  when  I 
ceased  speaking,  he  cried  : 

"  Do  you  speak  truly  ?  Is  there  a  God  in  heaven  ? 
Have  the  American  people  no  fear  of  Him?" 

"Wakanda  lives,"  I  said,  "and  He  will  avenge  the 
wrongs  of  his  children.  But  oh !  the  smart  is  hot  and 
sore  while  it  lasts." 

"  Is  there  a  general  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
to  secure  the  protection  of  aur  laws  ?" 

"  For  twenty  years  the  one  petition  of  our  chiefs  has 
been  for  tools  and  farming  implements,  missionaries  and 
leaders,  a  secure  title  to  their  land,  the  benefits  of  just  and 
equal  laws,  and  then  the  high  privilege  of  supporting 
themselves." 

"  And  has  not  this  been  acceded  to?" 

"Can  you  not  answer  that  question  yourself?" 


RETURNING  REASON.  22$ 

Our  conversation  had  consumed  the  whole  day.  The 
afternoon  was  now  far  spent,  the  twilight  was  hovering 
down. 

"See,"  I  said,  "the  evening  nestles  under  the  trees. 
Thus  the  twilight  of  our  race  has  come.  Thousands  of 
our  fathers  have  died  and  have  left  no  seed  behind  them. 
They  say  we  are  dying  out;  and  truly,  under  the  present 
system  of  cruelty  and  exaction,  it  is  so.  But  grant  us  the 
blessings  you  freely  accord  to  the  natives  of  all  other 
lands,  and  we  should  increase  in  numbers,  our  homes 
would  resound  to  merry  shouts  of  many  little  ones,  and 
the  voices  of  our  young  men  would  make  our  harvest 
fields  resound.  They  say  we  are  a  weakly  race  perishing 
from  the  earth ;  but  it  is  because  when,  by  a  cruel  decree 
from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  a  Northern  tribe  is  sent  to 
the  Land  of  Fire,*  scores  and  hundreds  die  of  raging  fever. 
In  our  own  homes  we  do  not  die  more  rapidly  than  the 
whites.  Can  they  excuse  themselves  for  causing  us  to 
perish  by  sending  out  the  cry  that  we  are  a  perishing  race  ? 
But,  Wa-gha,  the  despised  Indian  race  is  leaving  a  mark 
on  your  history  that  can  never  be  wiped  off.  If  you 
could  walk  with  me  to  some  of  the  farms  of  the  white 
man,  I  could  show  you  a  strange-looking  gully,  several 
feet  in  depth,  running  through  the  wheat  and  oat  fields, 
and  down  the  sides  of  the  hills,  coursing  away  in  regular 
line  for  miles  together.  It  is  an  old  Indian  trail.  Once 
it  was  a  mere  path  through  the  heavy  grass  and  nodding 
dandelions.  Over  it  the  children  raced  in  their  play,  the 
lover  hasted  to  the  trysting-place,  the  old  chiefs  slowly 
went  to  the  council.  But  now  the  rains  of  heaven  have 
worn  it  deep.  The  white  man's  grain  grows  in  it  and 
along  its  sides,  but  it  cannot  be  hid.  Under  brilliant  sun 

*  The  Indian  Territory,  so  called  by  the  Indians. 


226  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

or  flickering  moon,  it  still  is  visible  as  a  scar  upon  the  fair 
surface  of  earth  ;  and  oh,  what  a  pathetic  story  it  tells  of 
the  sad  difference  between  what  once  was  and  that  which 
is !  Wa-gha,  there  is  a  scar  upon  your  national  history, 
showing  where  once  the  Indians  lived  and  loved,  but 
where  now  they  are  not.  Under  whatever  light  shines 
out  of  heaven,  whether  of  justice  or  of  mercy,  it  still  is, 
and  shall  ever  be,  visible.  Seek  to  hide  it  as  you  may 
under  the  fruit  of  your  thrift,  it  yet  remains,  and  is  worn 
deeper  year  after  year  by  the  rushing  greed  of  man.  Wa- 
gha,  I  have  spoken !" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHOPPING     LOGIC. 

WHEN  I  had  concluded  I  sank  down  upon  the  ground 
overcome  with  emotion.  The  white  man  was  about  to 
reply,  when  we  heard  the  voice  of  a  man  calling  in  the 
distance. 

"  That  is  Ben  !"  he  cried,  almost  springing  up  in  his  ex 
citement. 

The  shouts  came  rapidly  nearer  and  nearer,  until  the 
sick  man  could  answer  them.  Not  sure  of  the  reception 
I  should  receive  from  the  approaching  strangers,  and  be 
ing  unwilling  to  force  myself  into  their  company  as  a  wit 
ness  of  their  meeting,  I  quietly  crept  a  few  steps  away,  and 
cast  myself  down  behind  a  clump  of  young  aspens. 

"Halloa,  Colonel!"  exclaimed  a  hearty  voice,  "you've 
led  us  a  lively  dance  through  brush  and  brier  this  time,  or 
I'll  be  hanged.  Come  to  yourself  agin,  like  a  regular 
Methidist  out-and-out  prodigal,  has  ye?  Wai,  ye  see,  I 
brings  this  chum  of  mine  along  in  case  of  accidents. 
Wasn't  no  match  for  ye  alone,  not  I,  and  that  crack  over 
the  head  ve  gin  me  ain't  wholesome  to  be  repeated.  Ye 
don't  look  just  now  as  ye  could  break  an  ambulance  wheel 
over  yer  knee — now,  do  ye  ?" 

With  these  words  two  athletic  men  came  out  of  the 
twilightg  loom  and  stood  before  the  "  colonel  ".  The  one 
who  spoke  was  tall,  long-armed,  loose-jointed,  but  evi 
dently  of  great  strength.  His  face  was,  as  nearly  as  I 
could  discover  in  the  imperfect  light,  genial  and  mirthful, 
and  in  his  eye  there  were  both  the  twinkle  and  the  shining 


228  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

of  a  star.  His  hair  and  beard  were  of  that  vivid  red 
color  which  always  so  amuses  an  Indian.  His  com 
panion,  or  "pard,"as  the  miner  would  say,  was  shorter, 
darker,  possessed  of  a  singularly  grave  and  knowing 
countenance,  much  given  to  silence  and  tobacco.  Both 
were  dressed  in  deerskin  pants  and  blue  shirts.  Upon 
one  extremity  they  wore  heavy  boots,  and  upon  the  other 
the  customary  broad-brimmed  hats. 

They  both  shook  hands  heartily  with  the  colonel,  who 
seemed  to  regard  them  with  mingled  shrinking  and  de 
light.  In  answer  to  their  salutations,  he  said  to  the  one 
who  had  spoken : 

"  Sit  down  here,  Ben,  and  tell  me  what  has  happened. 
Where  are  the  mules  and  the  ambulance  ?" 

"Not if  I  knows  myself,"  Ben  replied.  "  I  don't  enter  on 
no  such  excitin'  yarn  as  that  'ar,  until  I've  had  a  some- 
thin'  to  eat.  Jerry  and  I's  hungrier  than  wolves— ain't 
we,  Jerry  ?" 

"  That's  our  policy,"  responded  that  individual  briefly. 

'•  So,"  continued  Ben,  "  if  ye  have  anythin'  to  eat  in 
yer  pantry,  Colonel,  and  will  just  trot  the  same  out,  we 
will  sup'rintend  the  demolishin'  of  the  aforesaid.  Jerry, 
you  produce  the  bacon  and  I'll  strike  a  fire,  and  we'll  see 
what  can  be  had." 

"  That's  our  policy,"  again  answered  Jerry. 

"  Ye  see,  Colonel,"  said  Ben  in  a  low  voice  to  that  indi 
vidual,  "old  Jerry  ain't  much  to  look  on — now  is  he? 
But  he's  tenderer'n  a  woman.  The  first  time  I  seed  him 
was  when  I  was  laid  up  at  Reno  by  a  little  scratch  as  I 
got  from  a  feller's  dirk  knife  one  night  a  playin'  cards.  I 
hadn't  a  cent  in  the  world,  Colonel ;  my  folks  had  all  died 
back  in  Jersey,  I  spect,  and  the  fellers  jest  chucked  me 
into  an  old  room  and  left  me  to  -die.  Wai,  Jerry  come 
along  alookin'  for  a  pard.  I  wasn't  a  likely  one— now  was 


CHOPPING  LOGIC.  229 

I  ?  But  never'less  Jerry  tackled  to  me.  I  opens  my 
eyes  one  day  after  I'd  laid  there  more'n  a  week,  and  the 
first  thing  I  sot  'em  on  was  Jerry.  He  jest  touched  me 
with  them  hard  hands — seemed  to  me  it  was  my  mother 
a-come  to  me.  Oh,  he's  tenderer'n  a  woman,  old  Jerry  is. 
He  paid  all  my  bills,  gave  the  cuss  as  tickled  me  with  his 
dirk  a  blasted  thrashin',  stuck  to  me  in  all  our  ups  and 
downs,  and  here  we  be.  An'  he's  awful  wise,  Jerry  is.  He 
can  jest  sme/liho.  gold,  an'  ef  it  hadn't  a  been  for  some  of 
my  cussed  foolishness  we  would  ha'  been  rich  long  afore 
this.  When  I  passes  over  the  range,  *  Colonel,  I  wants 
old  Jerry  jest  to  tech  me  with  them  hands  o'  his  as  the 
last  thing,  fer  he's  tenderer'n  a  woman,  or  /'//  be  hanged ! 
But  here  goes  for  somethin'  to  eat." 

"  Ben, "said  the  colonel,  "there  was  an  Indian  boy  here 
a  moment  since,  who  saved  my  life  and  has  kindly  tended 
me — " 

"  A  Injun !"  said  Ben,  stopping  in  the  act  of  striking  a 
match  upon  the  leg  of  his  deerskin  pants.  "  Saved  yer 
life!  Tended  of  ye!  Jerry,  let's  die!  But 'taint  much 
queerer  'an  ye  should  tend  o'  me,  Jerry." 

"Yes,"  pursued  the  colonel,  "and  he  will  show  you 
where  our  provisions  are  kept,  and  show  you  about  get 
ting  the  meal." 

"A  Injun!  'Show  us  about,'  hey,  Jerry?  He!  he! 
Prodigal  ain't  quite  come  back  yet.  But  call  him  in, 
Colonel,  call  him  in ;  we  is  two  to  one,  and  I  guess  we 
ain't  afeered !" 

If  I  could  have  fled  without  being  seen  and  without  the 
suspicion  of  cowardice  attaching  to  me,  I  should  have 
done  so  rather  than  face  the  rough  strangers.  This  being 

*"When  I  die."  A  most  beautiful  expression  used  by  the  miners. 
One  side  of  the  Rocky  range  is  usually  rough  and  rocky,  but  on  the  other 
side  there  lies  a  lively  Park. 


23°  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

impossible,  however,  I  arose,  stepped  forward,  and  with, 
out  a  word  assisted  in  the  gathering  of  wood  and  the  prep 
aration  of  the  meal.  At  first  Ben  seemed  to  regard  me 
with  some  suspicion,  but  as  I  made  no  formidable  demon 
strations,  we  were  soon  upon  the  most  familiar  terms. 

The  simple  meal  over,  the  strangers  lighted  their  pipes, 
and  casting  themselves  in  an  easy  posture  before  the  fire, 
prepared  for  the  description  of  the  colonel's  dark  days. 
I  was  surprised  to  notice  that  Ben,  although  apparently 
of  a  generous  and  noble  nature,  seemed  to  have  no  appre 
ciation  of  the  fact  that  his  words  cut  the  colonel  to  the 
heart,  for  he  related  the  whole  transaction  as  if  it  were 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world. 

"  Wai,  ye  see,  Jerry,  the  colonel  thar  hired  me  to  drive 
him  over  to  Camp  Roe.  He  had  a  ambulance  and  four 
mules,  and  I  was  to  act  as  guide,  cook,  driver,  and  enter 
tainer.  Wai,  we  gets  along  very  comf'table  for  a  day  or 
two  ;  we  passes  smoothly  over  the  range  and  comes  down 
into  this  yer  valley  at  the  lower  end.  I  notices  one  night 
that  the  colonel  don't  sleep  soun'.  I  notices  him  a  tum- 
blin'  and  a  turnin'  and  a  gittin'  up  to  look  at  the  stars, 
and  I  ses  to  myself,  'Somethin'  don't  set  well  on  his 
stomach  or  on  his  heart,  I  dunno  wich/  and  let  it  pass  my 
mind.  (List'nin',  Jerry  ?)  Wai,  the  next  day  the  colonel's  eyes 
was  kind  o'  wild-like,  but  I  didn't  pay  no  'tention  to  that. 
Sez  I  to  myself,  '  It's  because  he  didn't  sleep  none.'  Wai 
I  hitches  up  and  we  makes  a  start.  That  was  jest  a  week 
ago  to-day.  I  was  a  drivin'  along,  cozy  as  a  beaver  on  a 
log,  when — whoop !  a  crack  comes  onto  my  head  as  if  a 
boulder  had  fallen  on  it.  Sez  I  to  myself,  'Guess  I'll  git 
out  and  kinder  reckon-nooter ' — leastways,  I  suppose  I 
sez  that,  for  the  next  thing  I  knows  I'm  a  lyin'  on  the 
ground.  The  colonel  didn't  seem  to  care  no  more  about 
me ;  so,  to  be  on  the  safe  side  in  case  of  accidents  I  jest 


CHOPPING  LOGIC.  231 

crawls  quiet-like  into  a  bush  as  was  nigh.  Whoop!  ye 
ort  to  have  seen  the  colonel  then  !  He  was  gran',  I  teli 
ye!  He  onhitches  the  mules,  gives  them  a  lick  with  a 
club,  and  sends  them  off  to  grass.  He  slashes  out  the  ax 
and  whacks  the  old  ambulance  all  into  splinters  in  no  time 
— piles  it  all  in  a  heap.  (List'nin',  Jerry?") 

"  That's  our  policy." 

"  And  then  he  sots  fire  to  the  whole  outfit.  Blazes !  how 
it  did  burn — varnish  and  paint  and  leather  and  cushions 
and  all.  The  Colonel  was  wild  with  the  fun ;  he  dances 
roun'  and  roun'  it  while  it  blazes,  slings  his  hat  and  coat 
in  when  the  light  got  sort  o'  low,  and,  bless  my  eyes!  ef  I 
didn't  think  once  he  was  a-goin'  to  jump  in  hisself.  But 
he  didn't,  as  ye  may  jedge.  When  the  whole  thing  was  a 
heap  o'  hot  ashes  he  wades  into  it,  kicks  the  ashes  and 
coals  about  like  split,  clappin'  his  hands  and  shakin'  out 
his  hair.  Then  all  of  a  sudden  he  takes  a  start,  and — 
whoop !  away  he  goes  pell-mell,  and  I  gathers  in  the 
mules  and  takes  myself  back  to  cabin.  Ye  knows  the  rest 
— how  we  sot  out  to  find  him — and  here  he  is." 

On  the  conclusion  of  his  singular  narrative  the  rough 
frontiersman  puffed  away  at  his  pipe  with  the  greatest 
gravity,  and  seemed  lost  in  some  deep  meditation  upon 
the  fragility  of  the  human  mind  or  some  kindred  topic. 
I  looked  toward  the  colonel,  and  though  he  said  not  a 
word,  his  face  seemed  very  pale  in  the  fire  light.  I  pitied 
him.  The  red  man  can  boast  of  but  one  sure  possession 
— the  power  to  thoroughly  pity  woe. 

"Jerry,  are  ye  list'nin'?" 

tf  That's  our — 

"  I'm  thinkin'  of  the  Injun  Question,  Jerry.  Somethin' 
in  the  personal  surroundin's  kinder  suggests  it,  ye  know. 
All  the  gran'  men  of  the  nation  thinks  of  it,  but  they 
haven't  their  peepers  right  on  the  difficulty  as  we  has 


232  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

here  on  the  frontier.  The  nutshell  of  the  whole  matter 
is  jest  this  :  the  Injuns  has  got  to  go.  They  has  the  best 
huntin'  and  the  richest  mineral  on  their  reservations. 
They  don't  use  the  mineral — they  don't  know  how  to 
prospect  for  it,  nor  how  to  mine  it.  It  ain't  accordin'  to 
reason,  Jerry,  that  a  civilized  race  should  stan'  back  and 
not  git  rich  because  a  oncivilized  race  has  got  the  rocks 
and  won't  use  'em.  It's  jest  the  old  story  of  the  dog  in 
the  manger,  as  we  use  to  hear  tell  of  back  on  earth.*  I  fer 
one  means  to  kick  the  dog  out." 

"  That's  our  policy,"  said  Jerry. 

"  But,  Ben,"  said  the  colonel,  coming  nearer  to  the  fire 
and  taking  a  seat  on  a  pine  log,  his  earnest  face  showing 
that  he  had  forgotten  his  own  sorrow  for  the  moment,  in 
his  interest  in  a  great  question,  "does  it  seem  to  you  fair 
that  the  possessions  of  the  Indians  should  be  wrested  from 
them  without  a  reasonable  compensation  ?  The  land,  with 
all  its  hunting  facilities  and  all  its  mineral  wealth,  is  at 
present  theirs. 

"  Ain't  no  doubt  on  that,  Colonel." 

"  And  every  department  of  our  government  has  acknowl 
edged  the  validity  of  the  titles  by  which  they  hold  this 
land.  In  the  ordinance  of  1787  the  claim  of  the  Indians 
to  their  possessions  is  distinctly  recognized.  It  was  reaf 
firmed  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  at  the  sale  of  Louisiana, 
and  our  government  entered  no  protest." 

"  That  all  may  be,  Colonel,  but  hanged  ef  I  see  yit  that 
I  must  stand  aside  when  I  sees  a  fine  lead  of  gold  or  silver 
because  it  be  on  a  reserve." 

"  But  you  must  have  some  authority  to  go  on  another 
man's  property  before  it  can  be  right  to  do  so.  There  are 
just  three  ways  in  which  a  nation  can  acquire  right  to 

*  i.e.,  in  "the  States." 


CHOPPING  LOGIC.  233 

any  possession  :  it  must  be  either  by  discovery,  conquest, 
or  purchase.  You  cannot  for  a  moment  claim  that  we 
have  the  right  of  original  discovery  in  this  case,  for  the 
red  men  held  the  soil  when  our  fathers  first  found  it ; 
neither  can  you  justly  say  that  the  Indian  tribes  generally 
have  laid  themselves  liable  to  a  war  of  conquest  on  our 
part;  and  it  is  only  too  well  known  that  but  little  of  the 
Indian's  land  has  been  fairly  purchased  from  him.  You're 
an  honest-hearted  fellow,  Ben ;  you  would  not  take  a 
dime's  worth  of  my  property  without  paying  for  it ;  and 
you  must  know  that  we  have  no  right  to  their  possessions 
until  we  have  given  them  a  just  equivalent.  Now,  have 
we  ?" 

"  Lookce  here,  Colonel,"  said  Ben,  crossing  his  legs  and 
sagely  winking  to  Jerry — who  moved  his  lips  as  if  he  were 
repeating  his  favorite  sentence  by  way  of  encouragement 
— "  lookee  here  :  is  it  accordin'  to  the  Tightness  of  things, 
now,  that  a  infeerer  race  should  occupy  possessions  as 
could  be  better  used  of  by  a  supeerer  race?  Ain't  it  our 
dooty,  so  to  speak  (hey,  Jerry?),  to  improve  everythin' 
to  the  very  best,  like  ?  You  knows  what  I  mean,  Colonel, 
but  I'se  been  so  long  a  livin'  '  out  o'  God's  knowledge  '  * 
as  I  can't  put  it  jest  right." 

"  Yes,  Ben,  I  know  what  you  mean.  And  I  confess  that 
until  the  last  twelve  hours  this  argument,  which  is  the 
only  one  that  can  be  urged  on  our  part,  has  seemed  to  me 
enough  to  warrant  the  driving  out  of  the  Indians.  But  I 
have  had  time  to  think  it  over,  and  I  believe  it  to  be 
simply  a  national  quibble.  For  where  is  this  law  of 
superior  right  to  stop  ?  If  you  owned  a  farm,  and  I  should 
become  thoroughly  persuaded  that  I  could  improve  it  to 
better  advantage  than  you,  could  I  fairly  or  honestly  drive 

*  On  the  Plains. 


234  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

you  and  your  family  away  ?  If  I  had  ten  sons,  and  you 
had  but  one,  I  might  succeed  in  thrusting  you  away,  but 
would  my  robbery  be  excused  by  the  fact  of  my  claiming 
that  I  could  make  better  use  of  the  farm  than  you  were 
doing?  I  imagine  you  would  claim  your  privilege  of 
growing  either  wheat  or  weeds,  barley  or  sage-bush,  as 
suited  your  pleasure." 

"  But  ye  see,  Colonel,  I  ain't  a  Injun  !" 

"  Is  a  H^Arfe-wrong  a  fied-right  ?" 

"Ye  see,  Colonel,  ye  hasn't  lived  with  yer  peepers  open 
right  on  the  Injun  question  all  yer  life,  as  I  has.  They  w 
all  so  cussed  !  It  ain't  nothin'  personal  meant  to  present 
company,  ye  understand ;  but  it's  so.  And  we  on  the 
frontier  makes  every  chance  count,  as  we  can  git  agin  'em — 
hey,  Jerry?" 

*  That's  our  policy." 

"  Yes,  Ben,  and  I  am  afraid  many  of  the  frontiersmen 
cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  make  false  reports  of 
Indian  depredations  in  order  to  increase  the  strife  between 
the  races,  and  thus  hasten  the  removal  of  the  red  men." 

"  Why,  Colonel,  ye  can't  lie  about  a  Injun! "  and  then, 
after  a  pause,  "  He's  so  cussed." 

"  Still,  Ben,  I  have  it  on  the  best  evidence  that  last  sum 
mer  in  this  very  Park  an  Indian  was  killed  by  a  couple  of 
prospectors;  and  in  order  to  divert  attention  an  alarm 
was  raised  that  the  whole  Ute  tribe  had  gone  to  war. 
The  daily  papers  published  thrilling  dispatches  showing 
up  the  revengeful  nature  of  the  Indians  and  telling  how 
several  battles  had  been  fought,  which  had  existence  only 
in  the  vivid  imaginations  of  the  frontier  '  pards.'  The 
cry  went  up  all  over  the  country  that  the  tribes  must  be 
removed,  and  many  voices  were  for  extermination." 

During  this  conversation  Jerry  had  remained  perfectly 
quiet  except  when  he  uttered  his  peculiar  expression,  or 


CHOPPING  LOGIC.  235 

made  an  attempt  so  to  do.  While  these  last  few  words 
were  being  spoken,  however,  he  seemed  to  be  enduring  a 
severe  attack  of  St.  Vitus's  dance,  so  restless  and  eager 
was  he  to  have  a  word  on  the  subject  of  discussion.  At 
this  point,  therefore,  he  said  : 

"  Ye  see,  Colonel,  I  has  a  Injun  policy  along  o'  the 
rest.  I  adwise  that  all  the  tribes  be  gathered  in  some 
spot — takin'  care  that  it  ain't  whar  there  is  gold — and  about 
two  barks  of  a  dog*  distant  have  a  lot  of  forty-rod  red-eye 
sccrited  in  the  sand.  Then  leave  'em  to  their  fate.  They'd 
find  that  'ar  whisky  less'n  an  hour — steal  a  heap  of  it — 
drink  it  stiddy  till  they  all  stretched  out — men,  women, 
and  children  in  a  row — ^funct.  This  proceedin'  would 
'complish  three  things:  they'd  be  happy  a  stealin',  they'd 
be  happy  a  drinkin',  they'd  be  happy  a  dyin'.  That's 
humane,  that  is.  And  they'd  die  of  their  own  fault.  That's 
my  policy." 

Ben  and  the  colonel  laughed  heartily  at  this.  Realizing 
how  truly  the  rough  Jerry  expressed  the  light  valuation 
placed  upon  our  lives  by  the  border  men,  I  was  sad. 

"But,  Colonel,"  said  Ben,  "hain't  the  Legislatur  of 
any  State  the  right  to  hustle  off  troublesome  customers? 
Hain't  they  the  power  to  protect  the  peaceable  citizens  ?" 

"  If  I  should  grant  this,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  it  would 
still  remain  a  question  whether  the  Indians  or  the  frontiers 
men  are  the  troublesome  citizens.  Am  I  not  right  when 
I  say,  Ben,  that  nine  tenths  of  all  the  trouble  between  the 
races  is  occasioned  by  the  greediness  and  encroachment 
of  the  whites  ?" 

"  I  ain't  agoin'  to  be  a  denyin'  of  it." 

"And  it  seems  to  me,  Ben,  that  God  has  given  our 
nation  many  warnings  that  He  will  revenge  the  cruelty 

*  It  is  common  in  the  West  to  measure  all  distance  by  the  distance  a 
barking  do£  may  be  heard. 


236  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

wrought  by  us  against  His  helpless  children.  I  call  to 
mind,  at  this  moment,  a  very  striking  case.  Years  ago 
the  Cherokees  were  wrongfully  dispossessed  of  their  land 
in  Georgia.  Time  passed  on,  and  one  of  the  most  terrible 
battles  of  our  late  civil  war  was  fought  upon  the  very  spot 
where  these  Indians  had  once  lived.  If  you  should  search 
through  the  whole  South  you  could  not  find  a  tract  of 
country  so  devastated,  so  covered  with  graves,  as  that. 
Does  it  not  seem  that  God  has  thus  exhibited  his  dis 
pleasure  and  vengeance  against  those  who  sought  to  profit 
by  the  misfortunes  of  His  simple-hearted  ones?" 

"  Prodigal  ain't  quite  come  back  yit — hey,  Jerry?" 

"  And  I  also  call  to  mind  at  this  moment,  Ben,  a  clause 
out  of  the  last  will  of  Cortez,  the  cruel  Spanish  conqueror : 
'  It  has  been  long  a  question  whether  we  can,  in  good 
conscience,  hold  the  Indians  in  slavery.  This  question 
not  having  yet  been  decided,  I  order  my  son,  Martin,  and 
his  heirs,  to  spare  no  pains  to  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth  on  this  point,  for  it  is  a  matter  which  interests 
deeply  their  conscience  and  mine.'  Thus  does  the  most 
cruel  of  conquerors  shame  our  great  government,  which 
offers  to  Hottentot,  Kaffre  and  Turk  the  protection  of 
just  laws,  but  holds  the  Indians,  the  original  owners  of 
the  soil  we  now  possess,  in  a  slavery  which  is  as  hateful 
and  loathsome  as  it  is  subtle  and  shameless." 

"  That  decides  me,  Jerry,  or  I'll  be  hanged,"  said  Ben 
in  a  low  cautious  voice.  "  Prodigal  is  way  off — ain't  come 
back  by  a  heap." 

The  night  had  by  this  time  descended  darkly  upon  us. 
The  fire  of  pine-boughs  crackled  and  roared,  sending  up  a 
column  of  vivid  sparks  that  widened  out  aloft  into  a  tree 
of  fire.  Our  faces  were  aglow  with  the  light.  I  sat  where 
I  could  study  the  countenances  of  my  companions,  and 
while  I  felt  how  unjust  was  the  settled  hatred  to  our  race 


i.oc.ic.  237 

depicted  on  the  faces  of  the  two  frontiersmen,  I  couid  not 
find  any  bitterness  in  my  heart  toward  them  as  individuals. 
I  simply  regarded  them  as  the  victims  of  a  long  course  of 
false  training,  as  the  representatives  of  a  class  in  which 
love  for  gold  has  crushed  out  every  noble  feeling  of 
human  brotherhood.  The  face  of  the  colonel  was  animated 
and  kind,  showing  the  depth  and  force  of  the  noble  cur 
rent  flowing  beneath  the  surface.  I  recognized  in  him  a 
true  friend,  and  wherever  he  may  be  this  beautiful  evening 
as  I  write,  I  pray  that  the  blessing  of  Wakanda  may  alight 
upon  him. 

"  List'nin',  Jerry?"  finally  said  Ben,  knocking  the  ashes 
out  of  his  pipe.  Without  waiting  for  a  reply  he  con 
tinued: 

"The  news  from  down  country  is  rather  encouragin' 
like.  Eagle  Wing's  band  are  ordered  to  the  Injun  Ter 
ritory." 

"  Where  does  they  reside  at  ?"  inquired  Jerry. 

"  'Bout  two  hundred  miles  down  the  Horsetail.  That 
is  the  river  as  we  last  passed  on  the  over  side  o'  the  Range 
— do  ye  notice  ?" 

Out  of  the  glowing  fire -tree  a  spirit  seemed  to  come 
and  snatch  me  suddenly  from  a  most  beautiful  land  into  a 
region  of  thorns  and  darkness.  My  own  father's  band 
ordered  to  the  terrible  "  Land  of  Fire,"  which  to  every 
northern  Indian  is  the  synonym  of  fever  and  death ! 
Had  the  impending  stroke — the  blow  from  which  we  had 
so  long  shrunk — fallen  at  last  upon  us  ?  Must  our 
beautiful  homes  and  fruitful  farms  be  given  up  to  those 
who  had  no  right  to  them — who  had  not  toiled  to  make 
them  charming?  It  was  only  the  Indian's  pride  that  kept 
back  the  groan  that  started  to  my  lips  when  I  heard  the 
white  man's -words. 

My  blood  was  instantly  on  fire  to  rush  away  to  my 


238  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

people,  aid  them  if  we  were  to  resist  the  cruel  command, 
or,  if  nothing  more,  suffer  with  them  and  show  the  weak 
ones  how  they  might  be  strong.  I  thought  how  much  my 
father  might  need  a  strong  shoulder  on  which  to  lean  in 
this  sad  moment.  I  thought  of  my  mother,  who  had  saved 
my  life  at  the  risk  of  her  own.  I  thought  of  my  beautiful 
Wagh-ta.  Perhaps  she  had  come  back  to  our  home — had 
found  her  noble  father  dead  and  her  plighted  husband 
fled  away,  no  one  could  tell  her  whither.  She  might  need 
my  protection,  or  at  least  my  sympathy.  It  almost 
maddened  me  to  think  that  she  might  be  chiding  me  for 
deserting  her  in  her  distress,  or  imagining  that  I  had 
met  some  cruel  fate  among  the  swelling  divides  or  upon 
the  rocks.  The  long  arms  of  the  rocking  pines  beckoned 
me  away ;  the  voice  of  the  brook  murmuring  "  Khta-we-tha" 
urged  me  to  all  haste ;  the  smile  of  my  Wagh-ta  shone 
among  the  aspens  where  lay  the  path  to  the  Horsetail. 

I  looked  at  my  companions.  While  I  had  been  think 
ing  these  thoughts  they  had  stretched  themselves  out 
beside  the  fire  and  were  now  fast  asleep.  "  I  can  slip  away," 
I  thought,  "without  suspicion,  and  it  shall  certainly  be  with 
out  delay."  I  stood  for  a  moment  beside  the  slumbering 
form  of  the  colonel,  the  only  white  man,  save  the  French 
man  who  dwelt  beside  our  home,  whom  I  had  ever  heard 
speaking  a  word  in  favor  of  my  race.  I  called  down  all 
blessing  and  eternal  love  upon  him  as  he  thus  lay  with 
the  fire-light  flickering  over  his  pale  cheecks,  and  then, 
with  a  pang,  as  if  I  were  parting  from  a  brother,  I  turned 
away  and  followed  the  smile  that  gleamed  among  the 
aspens.  I  never  saw  him  again.  Who  or  whence  he  was, 
or  what  anguish  of  life  lay  behind  his  brief  but  terrible 
aberration  of  mind,  I  know  not;  but  his  heart  was  kind 
and  he  pitied  our  woes — may  Wakanda  bless. him 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PLOUGHED     UNDER. 

THE  glorious  night  was  just  at  its  height  as  I  started 
upon  my  journey  homeward.  In  the  distance  I  heard  the 
bark  of  the  wolf,  and  once  at  my  very  side  my  ear  caught 
the  purr  of  the  mountain  lioness  soothing  her  young. 
These  and  other  sounds  of  the  night  caused  me  neither  to 
hesitate  nor  to  fear.  I  had  now  a  great  purpose  in  view, 
and  was  nerved  by  the  thought  of  it.  By  morning  I  had 
crossed  the  Range,  and  by  the  following  evening  I  was 
far  down  the  Horsetail,  whose  bank  I  knew  to  be  my  surest 
and  easiest  way. 

At  noon  of  the  third  day  I  came  to  the  divide  from 
the  top  of  which  I  knew  I  should  see  our  village.  I  crept 
Breathlessly  up  its  side.  I  stood  upon  it,  and  oh  !  what  a 
spectacle  did  I  behold  !  Two  companies  of  the  Great 
Father's  soldiers  were  camped  in  the  circular  space  in  the 
heart  of  our  village  ;  my  father's  people  were  all  crouching 
in  abject  misery  upon  the  ground  in  the  center  of  the 
camp.  Seated  a  little  apart  from  them  I  could  see  my 
father  and  his  main  warriors,  their  bodies  wrapped  in 
scarlet  blankets  and  their  souls  in  bitter  woe.  Some  of 
the  soldiers  were  busily  tearing  down  the  homes  which 
we  had  built  with  such  pains  and  in  which  we  had 
spent  so  many  peaceful  hours.  The  few  articles  of 
furniture  that  we  had  been  able  to  secure  were  broken, 
thrown  together  into  a  pile,  and  just  beginning  to  blaze 
above  the  torch  applied  by  one  of  the  white  men.  The 
woody  fringe  along  the  river  bank  where  I  had  so  often 


240  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

sat  and  mused  with  Wagh-ta;  the  shining  stream  itself, 
in  whose  waters  I  had  so  often  fished  and  sported  ;  the 
rain-washed  hills  beyond  the  river,  upon  whose  dewy 
summits  I  had  so  often  hunted  the  antelope  and  wolf — 
these  well-remembered  objects  must  have  been  just  the 
same  as  of  old,  but  oh !  how  changed  and  desolate  and 
sad  they  seemed !  Several  of  the  houses  were  set  on  fire, 
that  being  the  easiest  mode  of  destroying  them.  As  these 
flames  leaped  upward,  spreading  their  forked  tongues, 
and  clapping  their  cruel  hands  together,  and  wreathing 
the  dear  homes  in  diadems  of  fire,  a  great  wail  came  up 
to  my  ears  from  the  miserable  company  huddled  together 
on  the  ground,  swelled  into  such  mournful  harmony  as  I 
have  heard  the  tempest  make  in  the  sounding  aisles  of 
some  distant  forest,  and  as  the  shifting  winds  bore  the 
wail  to  me  I  heard  this  sad  word  repeated  :  "  Ma-shan ! 
Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !"  * 

I  ran  down  the  hillside  and  was  allowed  to  pass  the  lines 
of  the  soldiers  and  go  into  the  space  allotted  to  my 
people.  I  came  upon  my  poor  mother  first ;  her  eyes 
were  wild  with  agony  and  tears,  and  her  long  hair  was 
matted  and  torn.  She  lighted  upon  me  a  look  of  love 
even  from  her  sadness,  and  said  passionately : 

"  My  son  !  my  son  !  Thou  hast  come  to  witness  our  dis 
grace,  to  share  our  fate." 

"  Na-ha !  t  Na-ha  !  At  last  I  see  thy  dear  face  again. 
Has  my  Wagh-ta — my  beautiful  bride — returned  ?" 

She  answered  me  only  with  a  moan.  Well  did  I  know 
her  meaning;  the  one  I  loved  was  still  away.  My  heart 
chilled  and  hardened  in  an  instant.  I  was  fiercely  glad  to 
die.  Yet  that  I  might  not  add  to  my  mother's  woe  by 
allowing  her  to  see  my  own,  I  turned  away  without 
another  word. 

*  Home!  Home!  Homel  f  Mother. 


PLOUGHED  UNDER  241 

As  I  walked  among  that  mournful  company  toward  the 
spot  where  my  father  sat,  I  thought  how  the  great  world 
of  society  and  government  and  wealth  never  for  a  moment 
stopped  in  its  mad  rush  to  think  of  what  sad  things  are 
occurring  out  upon  the  prairies,  of  what  cruel  wrongs  are 
being  perpetrated  in  the  holy  name  of  liberty.  I  was 
in  a  strange  agony  because  I  could  not  lay  hold  of  all  the 
people  of  the  world  at  once,  stop  them  suddenly,  keep 
them  perfectly  still,  and  force  them  to  a  fair  and  brotherly 
consideration  of  our  sufferings. 

My  father  was  calm  and  stern.  He  saluted  me  simply 
with  a  slight  wave  of  the  hand,  indicating  both  that  I 
was  welcome  and  that  I  should  be  seated  by  his  side.  For 
some  time  we  remained  in  perfect  silence,  for  no  one  could 
speak  until  the  chief  had  been  heard.  At  last  my  father  said: 

"The  white  men  will  soon  be  here.  Build  the  fire  for 
the  last  council  to  be  held  upon  our  own  soil." 

Some  of  the  warriors  arose  to  obey  his  command. 
!     "  Da-de-ha,"*  I  said,  "  have  we  no  means  of  warding  off 
this  terrible  fate  that  threatens  us  ?" 

"Thou  shalt  see,  my  son,  thou  shalt  see.  The  white 
men  will  soon  be  here  to  hold  a  council  with  us." 

"But  how  long  have  the  soldiers  been  here?  How 
long  have  our  people  been  exposed  thus  to  the  weather?" 

"  Four  days.  And  they  have  given  us  no  food,  hoping 
to  starve  our  people  into  consenting  to  give  up  their  beauti 
ful  homes  and  go  to  the  Land  of  Fire,  to  die." 

"  And  what  say  our  people  ?" 

"  They  say,  better  to  die  under  the  old  trees  and  beside 
the  graves  of  our  fathers,  than  in  the  land  of  the 
stranger." 

"  And  had  you  any  warning  of  the  approach  of  this  fate 
we  have  dreaded  so  many  years?" 
*  My  father. 


242  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

"  The  soldiers  found  us  gathering  in  our  corn,  and  pre 
paring  winter-tepees  for  our  cattle.  They  have  driven 
away  our  cattle  and  taken  our  corn  from  us. 

"  Da-de-ha  !     This  is  robbery  !" 

"  Nay,  my  son.  It  is  the  policy  of  a  great  government, 
and  cannot  be  robbery." 

There  was  an  intense  bitterness  in  his  voice.  Oh  !  it 
made  my  heart  weep  to  see  my  noble  father  so  crushed 
and  despairing.  He  was  born  to  command,  to  lead  his 
warriors  against  the  enemies  of  his  people,  to  stalk 
haughtily  among  the  grand  ones  of  the  earth,  to  overcome 
the  mighty  game  of  the  forests — it  was  terrible  to  see  him 
crouching  under  oppression,  ridicule,  and  woe. 

At  length  we  saw  the  agent  and  three  other  white  men 
approaching  us  from  the  direction  of  Gray  Coat's  mansion  ; 
and  my  father  arose,  placed  his  war-bonnet  upon  his  head, 
and,  thus  prepared  for  the  council,  awaited  their  coming. 
The  head-men  of  our  tribe  ranged  themselves  upon  the 
ground  behind  my  father.  Behind  them  the  wretched 
people — the  weeping  women  and  the  starving  children — 
gathered  to  listen,  in  the  agony  of  despair,  to  the  words 
spoken  by  the  white  men.  My  father  folded  his  arms 
quietly  upon  his  breast,  and  stood  forth,  like  a  mighty 
bear  at  bay,  to  defend  his  little  ones.  It  was  a  noble,  a 
pathetic  spectacle,  this  last  stand  made  by  a  once  proud 
and  powerful  race  against  the  slow,  creeping  advance  of  a 
pitiless,  hypocritical,  irresistible  foe.  The  tender  hearts  that 
read  these  words  in  their  luxuriant  homes  can  by  no  means 
imagine  how  cruelly  the  Indian  is  bound,  so  as  to  make 
him  the  easy  prey  of  scheming  men. 

Thus  in  perfect  silence  we  awaited  the  coming  of  the 
white  men,  as  if  it  were  an  attack  of  the  Sioux.  One  of 
their  number,  a  stranger  to  me,  was  tall  and  stately  in 
movement,  and  elaborately  dressed ;  his  hands  were  nicely 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  ^3 

encased  in  gloves,  and  his  nose  was  surmounted  by  a  pair 
of  gold-rimmed  eye-glasses.  I  afterwards  learned  that  he 
was  one  of  the  inspectors  appointed  by  the  Great  Father 
to  observe  how  our  tribes  obey  the  commands  of  their 
several  agents.  Another  of  the  agent's  companions  was  a 
base  man,  despised  by  Indians  and  white  men  alike  for 
his  many  known  acts  of  perfidy.  The  fourth  member  of 
the  group  was  an  interpreter,  who  had  been  brought  to 
see  that  the  interests  of  the  government  were  not 
endangered  by  any  want  of  understanding  between  the 
contracting  parties. 

While  this  company  was  approaching  from  one  side, 
I  saw  that  Kind  Face,  our  friend,  was  quietly  slipping 
toward  us  from  the  other  direction.  He  was  always  alert 
to  be  by  our  sides  at  a  moment  of  need,  and  my  heart 
rejoiced  when  I  thought  we  might  have  his  assistance  and 
sympathy  in  the  coming  council. 

The  inspector,  upon  coming  up,  saluted  my  father  with 
a  stately  bow,  which  was  as  proudly  returned.  The 
council  was  properly  arranged  around  the  crackling  fire 
of  spruce-boughs,  and  the  conference  was  about  to  begin, 
when  the  inspector  observed  the  presence  of  Kind  Face, 
and,  turning  to  the  base  man  I  have  mentioned,  exclaimed 
haughtily : 

"  Have  that  white  man  removed  from  our  council." 

It  was  beneath  the  pride  of  a  chief  to  make  any  plea  for 
the  help  of  any  one  not  of  his  own  race,  else  my  father 
had  requested  that  the  tender-hearted  Frenchman  might 
be  allowed  to  remain.  As  he  continued  silent,  Kind  Face 
arose,  and,  looking  the  inspector  firmly  in  the  eye,  said: 

"  This  day,  I  well  know,  shall  witness  the  crowning 
perfidy  of  the  English  against  the  simple-hearted  red  men. 
I  tell  thee  this—" 

"  Have  him  removed!  " 


244  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  I  tell  thee  this,  self-seeking  hypocrite,  that  had  it  not 
been  for  the  service  of  the  red  men,  thy  Anglo-Saxon  race 
had  never  possessed  the  American  continent.  It  is  matter 
of  history  that,  in  the  colonial  days  of  this  nation,  when  the 
French  were  bitterly  disputing  with  you  the  rulership  of 
this  vast  continent,  there  came  a  crisis  when  the  question 
trembled  in  the  balance.  The  forces  on  each  side  were 
balanced:  both  parties  knew  that  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indians  the  decision  lay.  My  ancestors — I  do  not  deny — 
used  every  method  and  means  to  obtain  the  friendship  of 
the  red  men,  but  they  failed.  At  this  moment,  upon 
which  the  destiny  of  America  hung,  the  historic  Six 
Nations  of  red  men  embraced  the  Saxon  cause,  and  literally 
changed  the  whole  civilization  of  America  from  French 
Catholic  to  English  Protestant.  Right  nobly,  indeed, 
have  you  rewarded  your  faithful  allies  !  You  have  repaid 
them  with  smiles  and  promises,  robbery  and  death  !  " 

"Command  the  captain  of  these  forces  to  remove  this 
insane  fellow  from  our  brotherly  council ! "  exclaimed  the 
inspector  in  a  rage. 

"I  relieve  him  of  the  duty,"  Kind  Face  replied.  "I 
depart  willingly.  Farewell,  Eagle  Wing  !  Wakanda  shall 
avenge  the  cruelty  of  this  day." 

These  were  his  words — could  I  ever  forget  them  ? 
Having  thus  spoken,  the  noble-hearted  man  turned  his 
steps  toward  his  dug-out,  and  I  never  saw  his  face 
again. 

The  peace-pipe  was  now  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  ; 
but  each  one  saw  in  the  curling  smoke  that  the  ceremony 
was  a  needless  and  cruel  protest.  There  could  be  no 
peace  between  the  victim  and  the  robber,  the  helpless  and 
the  spoiler. 

When  this  formality  had  been  completed  the  inspector 
arose  with  much  importance,  and  having  dropped  his  eye- 


PLOUGHED   UNDER.  245 

glasses  till  they  dangled  from  a  cord  about  his  neck,  pro 
duced  a  paper  from  his  pocket  and  gravely  opened  it. 

"  This  paper,"  he  said  through  the  interpreter,  "  is  the 
basis  of  our  action  in  pressing  the  removal  of  this  tribe 
to  the  Indian  Territory.  I  shall  first  pass  this  document 
to  the  several  chiefs  and  head-men  present,  and  ask  them 
to  be  kind  enough  to  identify  their  marks  upon  it,  and 
then  I  shall  read  it.  Interpreter,  be  so  good  as  to  pass 
this  to  Eagle  Wing,  asking  him  if  he  signed  it  in  presence 
of  Gray  Coat,  as  our  good  agent  is  known  among  the 
tribe." 

My  father  took  the  paper  and  quietly  handed  it  to  me. 
I  instantly  recognized  it  as  the  petition  drawn  up  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  dead  Um-pan-nez-zhe,  asking,  as  we 
supposed,  that  Gray  Coat  might  be  removed  and  we 
allowed  to  live  in  liberty.  But  as  I  now  cast  my  eye  over 
it,  having  learned  to  read  the  English  language  since  the 
paper  was  written,  I  was  amazed  and  horrified  to  dis 
cover  that  the  petition  really  requested  that  our  entire 
tribe  might  be  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

"  Da-de-ha  !"  I  cried,  springing  up,  "  we  have  been  cruelly 
deceived.  Thou  didst  dictate  a  plea  to  the  Great  Father 
asking  that  Gray  Coat  might  not  be  allowed  to  throwus  into 
slavery ;  behold  !  above  thy  name  there  was  written  a  peti 
tion  that  we  might  be  removed  to  the  Land  of  Fire.  Rise 
as  a  chief  and  tell  us  if  we  have  not  been  shamelessly 
trifled  with !" 

"Young  man,"  the  inspector  said  when  the  meaning 
of  my  words  was  made  known  to  him  by  the  interpreter, 
"  it  is  foolish  for  you  now  to  attempt  to  influence  your 
father  to  repent  his  deliberate  action.  This  document 
has  been  properly  attested  by  the  agent,  the  trader,  and 
the  interpreter;  it  has  been  considered  by  the  Great 
Father;  and  although  the  removal  will  cost  him  a  vast 


246  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

sum  01  money,  he  has  decided  to  grant  your  petition. 
The  Great  Father  has  no  patience  with  those  who  do  one 
thing  to-day  and  another  to-morrow.  It  will  be  necessary 
for  you  now  to  abide  by  your  petition,  and  as  the  Great 
Father  has  in  much  tenderness  provided  a  pleasant  home 
for  you  in  the  Indian  Territory,  thither  you  must  go." 

"  This  action  is  outrageous,  sir,"  I  said  in  English  to 
him.  "  The  chiefs  and  head-men  of  my  tribe  never  signed 
a  petition  to  be  removed.  Think  you  it  is  like  human 
nature  to  pray  the  Great  Father  to  grant  misery  and 
uncertainty,  sickness  and  death,  in  place  of  happiness  and 
freedom,  health  and  life?  Will  the  deer  beg  that  the 
fangs  of  the  she-wolf  may  close  upon  her  own  throat  and 
crush  the  ribs  of  her  fawn  ?  You  have  added  lying  to 
murder  and  theft,  in  this." 

"  I  refuse  to  hear  any  one  upon  this  question,"  said  the 
inspector,  "save  only  the  chief.  Let  Eagle  Wing  stand 
forth  and  present  any  claims  he  may  have  upon  the  con 
sideration  and  mercy  of  the  Great  Father." 

The  afternoon  was  now  far  spent.  The  coming  twilight 
threw  out  patches  of  deep  shadow  in  the  valleys  to  herald 
the  night's  approach,  and  sent  forth  the  soft  winds  of 
evening  to  whisper  of  its  peace. 

The  chief  slowly  wrapped  his  blanket  more  tightly 
around  him,  lifted  up  his  face  to  the  sky  for  a  moment  of 
prayer  to  Wakanda,  and  then  with  many  a  gesture  of  dig 
nity  and  grace  spoke  the  last  words  of  appeal  that  ever 
issued  from  his  lips. 

It  may  not  be  to  you  known  that  the  Indian  chief  uses  a 
language  far  nobler  and  more  picturesque  than  that  em 
ployed  by  ordinary  members  of  his  tribe.  Hence  it  is  that 
very  few  interpreters  are  able  to  give  the  full  meaning  of  a 
chief's  address,  while  in  almost  every  case  the  beauty  of 
metaphor  and  the  passion  of  expression  are  lost.  Every 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  247 

sentence  contains  a  reference  to  some  expressive  sound 
or  picture  of  the  natural  world,  and  thus  it  is  difficult  to 
retain  the  full  sweetness  and  glory  in  a  language  less  inti 
mately  associated  with  the  voices  of  grove  and  prairie.  I 
speak  of  this  that  you  may  not  think  my  father's  words 
unworthy  of  a  chief. 

"I  am,"  he  said,  "like  one  with  the  heartache  all  the 
time.  Through  my  soul  rings  the  sad  cry  of  the  O-we-we.* 
The  homes  that  our  fathers  built,  in  which  we  and  our 
little  ones  have  in  turn  been  born,  are  blown  by  a  tempest 
upon  the  ground — not  one  of  them  could  shelter  a  fox. 
Our  lands,  the  Wa-ghat  says,  must  be  given  up  to  the 
scratching  of  the  broad-winged  crows  and  to  the  burrow 
ing  of  the  badger.  And  he  asks  what  claims  I  have  to 
urge  that  we  may  be  allowed,  through  the  condescension 
of  the  Great  Father,  to  remain  upon  our  beautiful  farms. 
May  I  not  first  of  all  assert  the  claim  that  we  have  owned 
by  the  law  of  nature  and  the  gift  of  Wakanda  this  land 
whereon  our  fathers  have  always  lived  ?  May  I  not  claim 
that  our  title  to  these  homes  has  been  confirmed  to  us  by 
many  treaties  with  the  white  men,  and  that  we  have  never 
broken  the  slightest  stipulation  or  agreement?  May  I 
not  claim  that  we  have  fought  with  you  in  your  wars,  and 
for  you  in  our  contests  with  the  Sioux ;  that  many  of  our 
race  have  suffered  with  you  in  your  woes,  and  now  wear 
the  scars  of  the  veteran  in  your  service?  And  we  have 
committed  no  crime.  I  have  been  told  that  by  the  white 
man's  law  no  one  can  be  punished  until  he  has  done 
wrong.  We  have  never  done  wrong,  yet  we  are  punished. 
Have  you  two  laws — one  for  the  white  man  and  one  for 
the  Indian  ? 

"  Look  upon  us — we  are  human  beings.   The  one  Father 
made  the  white  men  and  the  red  men  alike.     Therefore 

*  The  morning  dove.  t  White  man. 


248  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

we  ought  to  be  brothers.  You  say  there  are  some  Indians 
who  are  bad — and  my  heart  weeps  because  it  is  true.  But 
are  all  white  men  good  ?  And  that  some  of  our  race  are 
evil-hearted  seems  all  the  greater  reason  that  we  who 
wish  to  do  right  should  have  strong  laws  to  protect  us 
from  their  malice.  Do  you  forget  that  we  are  men  ?  We 
love  and  hate,  we  suffer  and  weep,  we  must  take  care  of 
our  sick,  and  prepare  for  the  winter  and  for  old  age,  as 
the  white  men  do.  Look  at  us — have  we  not  hands  and 
feet,  eyes  and  lips,  just  as  you  have?  Are  we  not  men? 
We  are  poor.  Our  clothes  are  torn  and  soiled.  They  are 
all  you  have  left  us.  But  we  still  are  human  beings. 

"You  say  that  the  Indian  is  unsettled,  that  he  loves  to 
roam  from  place  to  place,  after  the  manner  of  the  lynx. 
This  is  false.  No  one  loves  his  home  and  the  grave  of 
his  fathers  as  the  red  man  does.  The  ants  would  never 
leave  their  sand-hill  if  the  rising  wave  of  the  ravine  did 
not  sweep  against  their  home.  The  Indian  would  never 
desert  his  village  if  he  were  not  thrust  away  by  the  foam 
ing  torrent  of  white  men.  He  loves  to  roam  the  hunting 
grounds;  but  he  comes  back  always  to  his  home.  We 
have  two  words  in  our  language  that  are  more  sacred  than 
any  other :  they  are  '  Wakanda'  and  '  Ma-shan.'  We  speak 
them  together  because  'God'  gave  us  our  'home'  and 
would  not  take  it  away  from  us.  There  is  another  thing 
that  we  have  always  possessed,  and  is  so  dear  to  us  that 
we  have  found  no  word  by  which  to  speak  of  it.*  It  is 
freedom  of  choice — to  go,  to  stay,  to  be  ourselves,  to  have 
our  own.  What  shall  we  do  to  show  you  that  we  love  our 
homes  above  any  other  thing?  Shall  we  range  ourselves 
along  the  top  of  yonder  divide  and  be  shot  one  by  one  by 
the  soldiers  rather  than  give  them  up  ?  Would  you  do 
that,  my  people  ?" 

*  The  Indians  have  no  word  for  liberty. 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  249 

Asking  this  question,  my  father  turned  with  a  proud 
smile  to  his  people.  The  silence  of  death  hung  over  us; 
no  one  uttered  a  word ;  but  our  entire  tribe,  men,  women, 
and  children  alike,  arose  as  if  by  one  brave  impulse.  Their 
faces  in  the  twilight  were  calm  and  firm — they  would 
gladly  die  with  their  native  breeze  fanning  their  cheek  and 
their  native  skies  above  them.  I  am  an  Indian  myself, 
and  so  it  was  natural  for  me  to  think  that  those  faces,  lit 
by  love  of  God  and  home,  were  just  as  noble  as  they  would 
have  been  had  they  been  covered  by  a  white  skin. 

"  My  brothers,"  my  father  said,  turning  to  the  white 
men,  "  we  are  ready  for  your  command.  Shall  we  die  upon 
the  divide  ?  For  the  days  the  soldiers  have  been  here  I 
have  seemed  like  one  facing  a  great  prairie  fire.  The  sky  is 
red,  the  grass  is  tall  anti  dry,  the  wind  is  strong  and 
blows  toward  me — I  would  take  up  my  babes  and  run  to 
save  their  lives.  I  have  seemed  like  one  standing  on  the 
bank  of  an  overflowing  river.  The  waves  cry ;  they  run 
fiercely  toward  us,  and  I  would  take  my  helpless  people  and 
flee  to  higher  ground.  But  no  place  of  safety  can  be  found. 
And  so  I  stand  and  face  the  fire — I  plant  my  feet  toward 
the  flood — I  am  willing  to  spring  into  either,  rather  than 
give  up  the  graves  of  my  fathers  and  the  home  of  my  child 
hood. 

"  My  brothers,  the  Indians  must  always  be  remembered 
in  this  land.  Out  of  our  languages  we  have  given  names 
to  many  beautiful  things  which  will  always  speak  of  us. 
Minnehaha  will  laugh  of  us,  Seneca  will  shine  in  our  _/ 
image,  Mississippi  will  murmur  our  woes.  The  broad 
Iowa  and  the  rolling  Dakota  and  the  fertile  Michigan 
will  whisper  our  names  to  the  sun  that  kisses  them.  The 
roaring  Niagara,  the  sighing  Illinois,  the  singing  Delaware, 
will  chant  unceasingly  our  Dta-wa-e.*  Can  it  be  that  you 
*  Death  song, 


250  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

and  your  children  will  hear  that  eternal  song  without  a 
stricken  heart?  '  We  have  been  guilty  of  only  one  sin — we 
have  had  possessions  that  the  white  man  coveted.  We 
moved  away  toward  the  setting  sun;  we  gave  up  our 
homes  to  the  white  man.  Behold  !  he  comes  and  bids  us 
move  again. 

"  My  brethren,  among  the  legends  of  my  people  it  is 
told  how  a  chief,  leading  the  remnant  of  his  people, 
crossed  a  great  river,  and  striking  his  tepee-stake  upon  the 
ground,  exclaimed, 'A-la-ba-ma !'  This  in  our  language 
means  '  Here  we  may  rest !'  But  he  saw  not  the  future. 
The  white  men  came :  he  and  his  people  could  not  rest 
there;  they  were  driven  out,  and  in  a  dark  swamp  they 
were  thrust  down  into  the  slime  and  killed.  The  word 
he  so  sadly  spoke,  I  am  told,  has  given  a  name  to  one  of 
the  white  man's  States.  Wa-gha,  there  is  no  spot  under 
those  stars,  that  now  begin  to  smile  upon  us,  where  the 
Indian  can  plant  his  foot  and  sigh  'A-la-ba-ma.'  It 
may  be  that  Wakanda  will  grant  us  such  a  place.  But  it 
seems  that  it  will  only  be  at  His  side.  My  brothers,  Khe- 
tha-a-hi  *  has  spoken." 

The  inspector  seemed  in  nowise  affected  by  these  words. 
In  reply  he  haughtily  said  : 

"  The  Great  Father  has  borne  patiently  with  you  in  all 
your  changeable  moods.  For  four  days  he  has  waited 
that  you  might  make  up  your  minds  to  go  quietly  to  the 
Indian  Territory.  He  will  wait  no  longer.  To-morrow 
as  the  sun  rises  we  will  begin  our  march.  The  soldiers 
will  see  that  no  one  lags  behind." 

After  speaking  these  words  he  was  about  to  turn  away, 
when  one  of  our  young  men,  unable  to  curb  his  passion 
longer,  started  up,  and  pointing  angrily  toward  him,  cried 
in  the  Indian  tongue : 

*  Eagle  Wing. 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  251 

"  Thou  shalt  suffer  for  this  !  The  agonies  of  the  widow 
and  the  orphan  have  a  weight  in  them  that  crushes  down 
the  soul  that  offends  them." 

A  moment  of  confusion  followed ;  our  sobbing  people 
gathered  round  the  speaker;  they  swayed  to  and  fro  in 
grief;  the  soldiers  rushed  among  them  ;  there  was  a  shot ; 
the  heart  of  the  young  man  who  had  spoken  was  pierced ; 
his  blood  gushed  into  the  upturned  face  of  an  Indian 
child  standing  before  him.  It  was  impossible,  in  the  com 
motion,  to  tell  who  had  done  the  deed,  or  by  whose  com 
mand  it  was  done.  The  soldiers  afterwards  said  that,  not 
being  able  to  understand  the  words  of  the  young  man, 
they  had  supposed  that  he  was  threatening  the  inspector's 
life.  This  may  have  been  the  case.  But  our  poor  people 
only  knew  that  our  blood  had  been  spilt,  and  catching  up 
the  warm  body  of  our  son,  slain  on  account  of  the  gener 
ous  impulse  of  his  heart  against  a  great  cruelty,  we  formed 
a  sad  procession  and  instantly  repaired  to  the  hill-top 
where  our  fathers  slept.  We  laid  him  down  upon  the 
dewy  grass,  and  oh,  how  his  upturned  face  shone  in  the 
starlight ! 

My  father  gathered  the  people  around  him  rnd  told 
them  all  to  kneel  down  there  before  the  face  of  Wakanda 
while  he  prayed.  This  was  his  prayer  : 

"  O  Wakanda,  the  red  man's  only  friend  !  Our  hearts 
are  broken,  our  eyes  are  heavy  with  weeping.  Thou 
didst  give  us  this  Ma-shan ;  who  shall  take  it  away? 
Here  we  have  lived  in  love  of  thy  smile,  here  we  have 
learned  more  and  more  of  thy  wishes,  here  we  have  heard 
of  thy  Son  who  died  for  the  red  man,  and  loves  him  all 
the  more  that  he  is  helpless  and  distressed.  Is  it  by  thy 
wish  that  we  must  now  go  to  the  Land  of  Fire?  Hast 
thou  given  the  white  man  the  Book  so  that  he  may  become 
strong  and  oppress  us  because  we  are  weak  ?  O  Wakanda ! 


252  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

Father  of  the  Indian!  soften  the  white  man's  heart.  Let 
him  love  us  as  brethren.  Forgive  them  that  they  despise 
and  forget  us.  Make  us  strong  to  go  wherever  it  is  thy 
wish.  I  pray  in  the  name  of  Wakanda  E-zhi-ga.'  * 

We  arose  with  strong  hearts. 

"  My  children,"  my  father  went  on  to  say,  "  the  lips  of 
this  son,  who  lies  dead  upon  the  grass,  have  spoken  a  true 
prophecy.  Wakanda  will  see  that  the  cause  of  the  weak 
prospers.  When  I  think  of  what  the  young  man  said  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  have  no  right  to  be  stubborn,  and 
so  be  killed  beside  our  ruined  homes.  That  would  be 
selfish.  That  would  be  to  interfere  with  Wakanda's  plan. 
He  seems  to  wish  us  to  suffer  in  the  Land  of  Fire ;  we 
bow  to  that  wish.  When  I  was  a  young  Wa-shu-scha  t  I 
would  go  into  the  woods  to  hunt.  Sometimes  after  turn 
ing  homeward  I  would  think  that  the  old  trail  leading 
back  to  the  village  was  a  hard  one  to  follow.  The  rocks 
would  seem  sharp,  and  the  briers  would  pierce  my  flesh. 
Then  I  would  leave  the  trail  and  seek  a  new  path  for 
myself ;  but  I  always  became  entangled  in  stouter  vines, 
the  rocks  were  sharper  and  the  swamp  deeper,  so  that  I 
was  glad  to  find  again  the  old  way,  in  which  my  fathers 
had  walked.  My  children,  it  may  seem  now  to  us  that 
Wakanda  has  guided  us  into  a  dark,  rough  way.  Remem 
ber  the  word  of  your  chief — better  to  go  forward  than  turn 
aside.  Wakanda  shall  guide  us — His  way  is  the  surest 
trail  to  Him." 

Then  my  father  gave  directions  for  the  burial  of  our 
dead.  He  was  the  last  of  our  line  that  has,  as  yet,  found 
sleep  beside  our  sleeping  fathers.  We  built  the  cotton- 
wood  shed  above  him  in  the  silence  of  overwhelming  de 
spair.  Then,  having  formed  a  sad  procession,  we  passed 

*  God's  Son.  t  Brave,  or  warrior. 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  253 

to  and  fro  within  cur  guarded  limits,  around  the  ruins  of 
our  homes,  out  as  far  as  we  could  go  into  our  fields, 
wailing  our  sad  Dta-wa-e,  while  the  pitying  stars  looked 
down,  and  the  old  trees  wept  the  dews  of  sympathy. 
"  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !  Ma-shan  !"  we  cried,  and  the  divides 
echoed,  and  the  hills.  Away  through  cottonwood  aisles 
that  echo  ran  ;  it  joined  the  ceaseless  roar  of  surging 
stream.  Shall  it  ever  die  ? 

The  morning  came  and  found  us  ready  to  leave  our 
homes.  Enough  wagons  were  taken  to  carry  the  women 
and  children.  The  men  walked  sadly  and  silently  beside 
them.  One  company  of  soldiers  preceded  us,  and  the 
other  followed.  They  hurried  us  forward  with  oath  and 
insult  and  blow.  The  red  men  have  at  least  this  advan 
tage  over  their  white  brethren — they  never  curse  the  name 
of  Wakanda  until  they  learn  the  English  language.  In 
our  native  tongues  we  have  no  word  of  cursing  or  blas 
phemy.  It  makes  my  heart  shiver  when  white  men  take 
Wakanda's  name  in  hatred  on  their  lips,  for  He  made 
earth,  and  air,  and  sunlight,  and  man. 

At  every  bridge  the  captain  counted  our  number  to  see 
that  no  one  had  escaped  to  crawl  back  to  our  wretched 
homes.  If  a  child,  forgetting  for  a  moment  the  hopeless 
ness  of  our  woe,  ran  a  few  steps  aside  to  pluck  a  withered 
dandelion  or  a  bunch  of  buffalo  grass,  the  soldiers  would 
swear  at  him,  and  amuse  themselves  by  throwing  stones 
at  his  head  while  he  scampered  back  to  the  line.  It  was 
not  long  before  even  the  children  realized  the  misery  of 
our  condition,  and  devoted  what  energy  they  had  to 
enduring  the  severities  of  the  march.  All  day  we  pressed 
forward,  and  at  night,  around  such  scanty  fires  as  we  were 
allowed  to  build,  we  wailed  our  sad  Dta-wa-e  for  loss  of 
home. 

It  was  now  late  in  the  fall.     The  cold   rains   of  that 


254  1^  LOUGH  ED  UNDER. 

period  descended  in  torrents  upon  us.  We  were  provided 
with  but  scanty  protection  from  the  severity  of  the  weather. 
To  add  to  our  discomfort  we  were  allowed  the  very  least 
amount  of  food  that  would  suffice  to  keep  us  upon  the 
march.  Under  these  circumstances,  and  considering  how 
sore  our  hearts  were,  it  is  not  surprising  that  many  of  our 
people  became  sick.  In  a  few  days  they  began  to  die.  A 
hasty  hole  was  dug  by  the  soldiers  for  those  who  were 
fortunate  enough  to  find  this  speedy  end  of  their  miseries, 
and  with  scarce  an  hour's  delay  of  our  march  the  bodies 
were  tumbled  in.  This  the  captain  called  "Christian 
burial."  And  I  have  since  learned  that  when  writing  of 
this  removal  he  used  the  following  words,  which  surely 
must  have  been  meant  for  unholy  sarcasm  :  "  These  burials 
occasioned  considerable  expense  to  the  government,  but 
it  is  my  opinion  that  the  civilizing  effects  upon  the  minds 
of  the  Indians  more  than  compensated  for  the  outlay." 

One  evening,  after  a  long  journey  through  the  rain,  I 
was  sitting  under  one  of  the  wagons  bathing  my  torn  and 
blistered  feet,  and  listening  to  the  mournful  patter  of  the 
rain  upon  the  darkening  prairie.  My  father  came  to  me, 
and  without  a  word  beckoned  me  to  follow  him.  He  led 
me  to  another  wagon,  and  pointing  with  his  finger  to  a 
person  lying  wrapped  in  blankets  under  it,  indicated  that 
I  should  uncover  the  face.  I  did  so,  and  found  it  was  my 
mother.  She  was  evidently  very  sick  ;  a  raging  fever  had 
seized  her ;  her  pulse  pounded  and  throbbed  like  the 
swollen  Missouri. 

"  Na-ha  !  *  Na-ha  !"  I  cried. 

Her  eyes  were  wild,  and  she  turned  them  out  upon  the 
drenched  prairie  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the  Storm  beckoned 
her  away.  But  she  uttered  not  a  word. 

*  My  mother. 


r  LOUGH  ED  UNDER.  25;,' 

"  Oh  speak  to  me,  Na-ha  !"  I  moaned.  "  Thou  didst  brave 
death  for  me:  conquer  it  now,  and  speak." 

My  father  had  tried  to  build  a  fire  in  the  shelter  of  the 
wagon.  It  had  all  died  out  save  one  little  flame,  which 
flickered  feebler  and  feebler  for  a  moment  and  then  sud 
denly  vanished,  affording  light  enough  as  it  expired  simply 
to  reveal  to  us  a  little  spiral  of  dun  smoke  curling  up  to  the 
dark  sky.  Thus  also  died  the  spark  of  life  in  my  mother's 
rent,  tear-soaked  heart ;  but  just  before  the  utter  dark 
ness  came  upon  us  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  soul  floating 
up  to  the  weeping  Wakanda.  We  did  not  give  her 
"  Christian  burial."  My  father  and  I,  accompanied  by  a 
guard  of  two  soldiers,  took  her  dear  form  out  to  the 
highest  sand-hill  we  could  find,  laid  it  reverently  there, 
and  covered  it  with  a  strong  wicker-work  of  such  boughs 
as  we  discovered  strewn  by  the  storm  around.  We 
breathed  a  prayer  to  Wakanda  to  guard  the  dear  remains. 
And  as  I  stood  there  listening  to  the  dripping  of  the  rain 
and  the  sighing  of  the  wind  through  the  tall  grass,  I 
missed  the  strong  nature  and  soft  kiss  of  Wagh-ta  as  I 
had  never  done  before. 

,  The  next  day  as  we  started  upon  our  march  I  knew 
that  I  must  sustain  my  father's  footsteps  and  try  to  cheer 
his  heart.  I  therefore  walked  by  his  side  and  gave  him 
my  shoulder  to  lean  upon.  His  weight  upon  me  became 
greater  and  greater  as  we  advanced.  The  next  day  he 
seemed  scarcely  able  to  drag  one  weary  foot  after  the 
other.  When  we  rested  at  noon  I  begged  the  captain 
that  my  father  might  be  allowed  to  ride  in  one  of  the 
wagons. 

"  Go  away,  you  dog !"  was  his  reply.  "  Your  lazy  father 
must  take  his  chances  with  the  soldiers.  Is  he  not  as  able 
to  march  as  we  ?" 

"  Give  him  the  food  and  coats  that  the  soldiers  have,"  I 


25-">          PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

replied,  "and  he  would  be  able.  But  he  is  sick  and 
starving." 

For  answer  he  caught  up  his  sword  and  struck  me  in 
the  face  with  it. 

During  the  afternoon  my  father  grew  rapidly  worse. 
His  cough  was  distressing.  He  often  stumbled,  and  would 
have  fallen  had  I  not  been  near. 

"  My  son,"  he  said,  as  evening  came,  "  the  wing  of  Death 
cast  its  shadow  over  me  when  thy  mother  died.  Accord 
ing  to  the  belief  of  our  people  I  should  have  remained 
quiet  under  the  spell  while  a  day  and  night  passed  over 
me.  But  I  was  hurried  on  by  the  soldiers.  My  son,  I 
must  suffer  the  consequences  of  having  broken  the  spell. 
I  must  die." 

All  night  I  sat  by  his  side.  In  his  sleep  he  moaned  and 
tossed,  and  I  feared  every  moment  would  be  his  last. 
When  the  morning  came  he  opened  his  eyes  and  said  to 
me: 

"  Last  night  I  dreamed  of  the  old  home.  I  heard  the 
whisper  of  the  cottonwood  leaves,  and  the  murmur  of  the 
river,  and  the  voice  of  the  young  men  in  the  fields.  Thy 
mother  was  with  me ;  we  were  glad.  My  son,  I  shall  socm 
be  in  a  better  home,  and  thy  mother  will  be  beside  me. 
Watch  where  they  bury  thy  father,  and  if  ever  Wakanda 
brings  you  back  to  the  old  home,  take  my  bones  and  lay 
them  beside  those  of  my  fathers.  See!  the  sun  rises. 
Thy  mother  beckons  me !  I  come !  The  sunshine  is 
bright !  Khe-tha-a-hi  comes  !" 

The  old  chief  started  up  with  these  words  and  succeeded 
in  reaching  a  sitting  posture.  He  raised  his  hand  and 
pointed  toward  the  light.  His  long  hair  streamed  in  the 
sunrise  breeze.  His  hand  slowly  dropped  upon  the  grass 
We  laid  him  down  and  closed  his  eyes. 

The  soldiers  hurried  him  out  to  a  "  Christian  burial." 


PLOUGHED  UNDER.  257 

I  noted  well  the  spot  where  he  was  laid,  and  when  the 
Wa-gha  permits  I  shall  take  his  bones,  as  he  wished,  and 
lay  them  in  the  old  grave-yard. 

Of  what  followed  I  have  the  most  indistinct  recollection. 
Robbed  of  bride,  mother  and  father,  I  walked  in  a  maze 
of  woe  that  rendered  me  alike  oblivious  to  the  sweet 
sounds  and  the  bitter  things  around  me.  We  crossed 
great  rivers;  we  walked  many  weary  miles;  we  starved, 
and  shivered,  and  wept ;  we  buried  person  after  person  on 
the  way:  hardly  a  child  reached  the  Land  of  Fire.  There 
the  remnant  of  us  at  length  arrived.  A  marshy  spot  of 
ground  was  given  us  for  a  home.  We  were  huddled  into 
a  few  tents,  while  our  agent  had  a  substantial  house.  The 
reign  of  death  continued.  Whole  families  became  extinct ; 
the  sad  cry  of  the  mourner  was  constantly  in  our  ears. 
Our  young  men  had  no  heart  to  work,  and  had  they  toiled 
with  the  greatest  energy  the  scanty  soil  would  have 
yielded  but  little  return.  We  could  kick  our  foot  into 
the  ground  and  strike  the  hard  underlying  rock.  We 
heard  the  most  distressing  reports  from  all  the  northern 
tribes  that  had  been  taken  to  the  Land  of  Fire.  In  nearly 
every  case  one  third  of  the  tribe  would  die  the  first  year, 
and  before  the  second  year  closed,  one  half  of  those  who 
in  joy  and  gladness  had  skimmed  the  old  hills  would  be 
in  their  graves. 

I  roamed  the  swamps  and  looked  toward  the  north.  I 
prayed  that  the  fever  might  attack  me  next,  and  that  I 
might  die  under  its  hot  kisses.  I  forgot  the  face  of  friends, 
and  often  would  puzzle  my  brain  to  know  why  I  was  so 
sad.  My  people  shook  their  heads  as  I  passed  along. 
Although  now  the  "chief,"  I  could  not  rouse  myself;  I 
was  as  one  in  a  haunting  sleep  that  cannot  be  shaken  off. 

When  along  the  sand  bars  of  the  Niobrara  the  fish- 
hawk  catches  the  spotted  pickerel  and  flies  with  it  in  its 


258  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

claws  toward  its  nest  in  the  high  tree-top,  how  it  screams 
with  triumph ;  how  it  enjoys  the  struggles  of  the  victim 
as  they  grow  feebler  and  feebler  in  death.  And  when 
that  scream  is  heard,  how  the  young  hawks  clamber  to 
the  sides  of  the  nest,  thrust  out  their  sharp  bills  and 
sharper  eyes,  and  scream  in  answering  .chorus  till  the 
woods  ring !  I  have  been  told  that  the  inspector  who 
removed  our  tribe  wrote  an  elegant  report  of  exultation 
over  us,  and  that  the  noble  senators,  and  officers,  and 
legislators,  and  commissioners  took  up  the  chorus  from 
their  nest,  and  screamed  joyously  that  the  blood-thirsty 
Indian  had  for  once  been  treated  with  proper  severity. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE     TWO     VOICES. 

ALL  this  time  1  had  heard  no  tidings  of  my  bride.  I 
knew  not  whether  she  were  dead  or  living,  and  sometimes 
I  wished  it  might  be  the  former.  At  better  moments, 
however,  1  knew  that  if  she  lived  she  loved  me  still,  and 
in  that  thought  there  was  sympathy  and  solace. 

The  winter  passed  at  length  away,  and  the  warm  spring 
returned.  One  day  word  was  brought  to  us  that  the 
members  of  a  neighboring  tribe  would  give  us  some 
horses,  if  some  orfe  would  go  to  receive  them.  At  the 
earnest  request  of  my  people  I  consented  to  go,  and, 
having  secured  the  permission  of  the  agent,  started  upon 
my  journey  the  following  day.  It  was  a  bright  morning, 
and  1  could  fancy  how  the  grass  was  springing  and  the 
early  flowers  blooming  upon  the  hills  of  my  northern 
home.  I  pressed  vigorously  forward,  and  by  evening  had 
reached  the  borders  of  the  reservation  of  the  tribe  by 
whose  courtesy  we  were  to  profit.  I  was  kindly  received 
at  the  house  where  I  was  to  spend  the  night,  and,  from 
the  people  residing  there,  learned  the  history  of  their 
tribe's  removal,  while  in  return  I  imparted  our  own  sad 
story.  So  strict  had  been  the  watch  kept  upon  us,  and 
so  thoroughly  has  the  agent  the  control  of  all  communi 
cation  between  the  tribes,  that  we  knew  scarce  anything 
of  what  was  going  on  within  fifty  miles  of  us.  They  had 
come  from  a  region  a  little  north-west  of  our  old  home, 
and  had  been  removed  about  the  time  we  had  been. 

The  next  morning,  bidding  adieu  to  my  friends  of  a 


260  PLOUGHED   UNDER. 

night,  I  started  toward  the  place  where  the  horses  designed 
for  us  were  kept.  I  passed  many  wretched  tents  and  huts 
in  which  the  people  had  spent  the  winter,  and  I  found 
that  the  same  story  of  sickness,  misery,  and  death  was  to 
be  told  here  as  among  our  own  tribe. 

About  noon  I  came  to  a  picturesque  spot  in  the  side  of 
a  hill,  whence  a  little  spring  of  pure  water  bubbled  forth. 
The  water  that  we  had  been  able  to  procure  had  been  so 
filthy  and  brackish,  that  I  hailed  this  pure  fountain  as  the 
direct  gift  of  Wakanda.  I  cast  myself  down  upon  the 
grassy  margin  of  the  spring,  and  drank  and  drank  until 
the  thirst  of  a  half-year  was  appeased. 

I  do  not  know  how  long  I  sat  there.  At  length  I  heard 
the  sound  of  footsteps  coming  down  the  pathway  beyond 
the  bushes.  I  had  nothing  to  lose,  so  I  did  not  fear,  and 
I  took  it  for  granted  that  none  but  Indians  would  be  near. 
Oh  !  I  did  not  think  how  much  I  had  to  gain. 

The  footsteps  came  nearer,  the. bushes  parted,  an  Indian 
girl  stepped  into  the  open  space.  Her  head  hung  down 
upon  her  breast,  her  long  hair  vailed  her  face,  but  I  knew 
her  in  an  instant.  Only  one  neck  could  be  so  shapely 
as  that — only  one  footfall  could  be  so  soft.  Springing  up, 
I  cried : 

"  Wagh-ta !" 

She  dropped  the  pail  which  she  was  carrying  in  her 
hand,  flung  I  ack  the  hair  by  a  toss  of  her  head,  clasped 
her  hands  in  passionate  surprise  and  joy,  and  said  : 

"  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha !" 

Yes,  it  was — it  was  my  bride.  She  hid  her  face  in  my 
arms  and  burst  into  tears. 

"  My  darling  bride,"  I  cried,  "  how  came  you  here  ?  By 
what  strange  working  of  Wakanda  do  I  find  thee  in  this 
lonely  place,  so  far  from  our  old  home?" 

She  could  not  answer  for  weeping. 


THE  TWO   VOICES,  261 

"  Tell  me  at  least  this,  my  darling,"  I  said  :  "  do  you  love 
me  as  when  we  had  the  bright  prairie  for  a  play-ground  ?" 

She  lifted  up  her  eyes  to  my  face  a  moment,  and  in  them 
I  saw  her  heart's  truth.  So  sure  was  I  of  her  love  that 
all  shadow  of  doubt  instantly  fled  from  my  mind. 

We  sat  down  upon  the  grassy  bank.  The  whole  scene 
seemed  transformed,  as  if  by  some  spirit  of  magic,  into 
the  most  enchanting  beauty.  The  weeds  became  flowers, 
the  marsh  a  garden.  We  talked  of  the  old  home  and  the 
old  love.  I  told  her  how  unjustly  we  had  been  removed, 
how  my  father  and  mother  were  dead.  At  this  her  tears 
flowed  afresh,  I  told  her  how  I  longed  for  a  kiss  from 
her  sweet  lips  as  I  stood  in  the  dripping  rain  and  gloom 
beside  my  mother's  grave,  and  she  lifted  up  her  lips  to 
my  cheek  and  gave  me  one  as  I  spoke. 

Then  she  told  me  all  that  had  happened  to  her  since  I 
had  seen  her — how  she  had  been  given  into  the  hands  of 
the  cruel  woman  Mollie,  how  the  evil  man  had  failed  in 
his  purposes,  and  how  he  had  struck  his  poor  mother  to 
the  earth.  She  said  that  the  day  following  her  escape 
from  him,  as  she  was  making  her  way  homeward,  she  had 
been  taken  by  a  band  of  soldiers  and  conducted,  in  spite  of 
her  most  earnest  appeals,  to  the  tribe  in  which  I  had 
found  her.  They  were  then  on  their  way  to  the  Land  of 
Fire,  and  hither  she  had  been  taken  with  them.  One  of  the 
families  of  the  tribe  had  kindly  received  her,  and  with 
them  she  had  remained  until  that  time.  In  all  this  tale 
she  did  not  mention  little  Swallow's  name,  simply  remark 
ing  that  she  had  been  saved  by  one  of  our  people. 

"  Who  was  it,"  I  cried,  "that  did  thee  this  great  service? 
I  will  bless  him  with  my  latest  breath,  and,  were  the  world 
mine,  would  endow  him  with  it." 

"  It  is  one,"  she  said,  "  to  whom  I  will  instantly  conduct 
thee.  And  oh,  dear  Wolf  Killer,"  she  added,  springing  up, 


262  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  we  should  have  gone  to  her  long  ago.  I  have  been  so 
happy  that  I  have  too  long  forgotten  my  duty." 

She  took  up  her  pail,  which  lay  where  it  had  fallen,  and 
I  filled  it  for  her  at  the  spring.  How  strange,  how  exhil 
arating  it  was  to  walk  again  by  Wagh-ta's  side  !  Again 
the  flowers  nodded  in  joyous  sympathy  as  we  passed  by ; 
again  the  grass-spears  jostled  their  fellows  in  knowing 
enjoyment  of  our  joy.  She  conducted  me  to  a  wretched 
hut  where  lived  the  family  whose  kindness  and  hospitality 
she  had  enjoyed.  She  pushed  aside  the  tattered  carpet 
which  formed  the  door,  and  told  me  to  enter. 

There  was  but  one  room.  A  woman  sat  beside  a  basin 
of  coals  cooking  a  little  food.  In  one  corner  of  a  room 
there  was  a  wretched  bed,  and  upon  it  I  saw  that  some 
sufferer  lay.  Wagh-ta  motioned  to  me  to  go  and  look  at 
the  sick  person.  I  did  so. 

"  Swallow !"  I  cried  in  amazement,  for  it  was  she. 

The  hatred  I  had  for  her,  because  of  the  profession  she 
had  made  of  having  aided  Scar  Face  in  wronging  me  and 
my  bride,  came  bitterly  up  in  my  heart,  and  I  was  about 
to  turn  away,  when  Wagh-ta,  understanding  all,  came  to 
me,  took  my  hand  in  both  her  own,  and  said : 

"Dear  Wolf  Killer!  It  was  little  Swallow  that  saved 
thy  Wagh-ta.  Bless  her,  then,  as  thou  hast  said,  for  I  fear 
she  has  not  many  minutes  to  live." 

Swallow  had  turned  her  wan  face  from  the  wall  toward 
us,  and  was  now  regarding  us  through  wild,  staring, 
sunken  eyes.  She  seemed  puzzled,  and  yet  not  surprised. 

"  Has  my  bright  dream  become  true,  then?"  she  softly 
murmured.  "  Have  Wolf  Killer  and  Wagh-ta  been 
united  ?  O  Wakanda !  I  thank  Thee— I  love  Thee  for  it !" 

Her  tired  eyelids  slowly  drooped.  Her  breathing  grew 
heavy. 

"  The  old  river  is  roaring  loudly  to-night,  mother,"  she 


THE   TIVO  I'OJCES.  263 

said  in  her  feverish  stupor.     And   then,  after  a  pause: 
"  How  the  ice  crackles,  mother !     It  must  be  colder.     I 
am  cold.     Hear  the  river  surge — it  sounds  fainter  now  !" 
She  seemed  to  harken  intently  for  a  long  time,  then  she 
said  :  "The  river  grows  fainter — and  fainter." 

After  about  an  hour,  just  as  the  twilight  was  settling 
round  us,  she  opened  her  eyes  again  and  said  : 

"  Where  is  he  ?  Wagh-ta,  where  is  he  ?  I  want  to  talk 
to  him  before  I  die !  Oh,  here  he  is.  Sha-ta-ga-dta-tha, 
can  you  forgive  poor  little  Swallow,  who  sinned  because 
she  loved  you  so  dearly?" 

/'Oh  yes,"  I  said,  "dear  Swallow,  I  freely  forgive  you, 
and  I  bless  you  with  all  my  heart  for  what  you  have  done 
for  me  and  mine." 

"  I  thought  it  would  succeed,"  she  said,  looking  up  to 
the  ceiling  with  a  far-off  look  in  her  eyes,  "  I  thought  it 
would  succeed.  Under  the  sumacs  long  ago  I  said: 
1  Love  and  hate  have  failed,  unselfishness  may  succeed,' 
to  gain  his  love." 

Then  in  the  quiet  twilight  we  talked  the  whole  sad 
story  over,  and  she  told  me  all  she  had  said  and 
done  to  save  my  bride.  Her  mind  seemed  to  retain  its 
power  until  she  had  told  all,  and  then  it  suddenly  failed 
her.  She  fell  into  a  quiet  stupor,  and  her  breathing  be 
came  labored  and  heavy.  We  watched  beside  her  while 
the  long  hours  passed,  and  just  as  the  midnight  stars  had 
wheeled  into  their  places  a  smile  played  for  a  moment 
upon  her  sunken  cheeks,  her  lips  parted  as  if  before  a 
scene  of  ineffable  grandeur — the  surging  of  the  river 
ceased — and  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief  her  soul  burst 
forth  into  the  eternal  Ma-shan. 

When  it  was  over  I  led  Wagh-ta  out  into  the  starlight 
to  stay  her  weeping. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  I  said. 


264  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

"  I  don't  know,  dear  husband,"  she  said. 

A  great  thought  of  joy  came  into  my  heart.  For  the 
first  time  in  many  months  I  felt  the  enthusiasm  and 
strength  of  a  man. 

"  My  Wagh-ta !"  I  whispered  in  my  earnestness,  "will 
you  fly  with  me  from  this  dreadful  land  of  death?  Do 
you  loye  and  trust  me  enough  for  that  ?" 

"  I  would  do  anything  for  you,"  she  whispered,  "  and 
can  brave  anything  with  you." 

"  We  must  be  all  in  all  to  each  other,  darling,"  I  said, 
"for  all  our  relatives  are  with  Wakanda.  We  will  fly  to 
our  northern  home  and  live  together  in  joy  and  peace.  I 
can  do  nothing  for  my  people  here  ;  perhaps  there  some 
way  may  open  for  me  to  help  them." 

The  little  maiden  looked  up  into  my  face  with  a  sweet, 
brave  smile,  and  whispered  : 

"  Ge-tha-a-ta-she !    Ge-tha-a-ta-she  !"* 

Our  kind  friends  who  had  harbored  the  orphan  Wagh- 
ta  were  taken  into  our  confidence. 

"Go,  by  all  means,"  they  said. 

And  the  father  of  the  household  added  : 

"You  must  go  this  very  night.  Our  agent  and  the 
police  are  away  in  the  other  part  of  the  Reserve.  I  will- 
get  a  brave  Shc5n-gat  for  each  of  you.  I  will  go  with  you 
to  the  borders,  and  show  you  the  way  to  safety  and  joy." 

"  Oh,  we  cannot  go  until  poor  Swallow  is  buried,"  my 
bride  said. 

"You  must  go  to-night,  or  not  at  all,  They  would 
shoot  you  if  they  found  you  stealing  away.  Poor  Swal 
low  is  beyond  all  need  of  help.  We  will  see  that  she  has 
proper  burial.  But  you  must  go  to-night." 

Wagh-ta  wept,  went  and  kissed  the  blue  lips,  and  then 
returned  to  my  side  and  took  my  hand. 
*  "Happiness  !  Happiness  !"     Literally,  "  More  than  glad."  T  Pony. 


Tin:  'nro  VOICES.  265 

The  ponies  were  soon  at  the  door,  and  in  an  instant  we 
were  mounted.  We  had  no  earthly  possession  but  our 
mutual  love,  and  that  was  a  light  burden.  Away!  away! 

"You  will  send  the  promised  horses  to  my  distressed 
people  ?"  I  said  to  our  kind  leader. 

"Yes,  yes!" 

"They  will  wonder  much  what  has  become  of  the  son 
of  their  last  chief.  But  I  could  not  have  had  the  heart 
to  tell  them  of  our  escape.  They  would  have  pleaded  so 
piteously  to  be  taken  too." 

"Think  only  of  your  bride — and  be  off ! "  our  con 
ductor  said. somewhat  harshly;  and  we  started. 

Up  dark  ravines,  over  starlit  hill-tops,  clattering  among 
the  rocks,  cutting  the  sod  with  six  pairs  of  sharp  hoofs — 
away  !  away !  away ! 

The  plain  is  broad,  Never  mind,  love,  it  will  put  the 
more  miles  between  us  and  death.  Start  not  at  the 
shadows  that  chase  us ;  they  are  but  shadows.  The  night 
breeze  whistles  "  Hope ;"  the  coarse  shrubs  wave  "  Cour 
age  ; "  the  twinkling  lights  among  the  wild  flowers  cry, 
"  Be  brave !  be  brave !" 

Away !  away  !  We  pass  tottering  hovels  and  rent  tents 
in  which  our  shivering  people  crouch  in  sickness  and 
misery.  We  pass  the  dying  camp-fire  of  those  who  have 
not  even  such  poor  protection.  Dashing  down  steep  de 
clivities,  rattling  along  the  dry,  pebbled  beds  of  streams, 
now  in  the  shadow,  now  in  the  starlight,  pausing  a  moment 
to  listen,  then  galloping  faster  than  before,  through  tangled 
brush  and  over  clear  spots — away  !  away !  Oh  !  brave  Shon- 
ga !  strong  Sh6n-ga  !  Ha  !  ha  !  we  shall  be  free  ;  we  shall 
be  free ! 

Hist !  there  is  a  camp-fire  around  which  we  see  moving 
figures.  We  must  make  a  detour  in  perfect  silence  :  tread 
lightly  upon  the  breaking  twig,  brave  Shon-ga !  Now  we 


266  PLOUGHED  UA'DER. 

have  passed  them — on  again!  The  night  grows  darker ; 
it  would  be  black  to  any  eyes  but  those  of  love,  but,  dear 
Wagh-ta,  it  is  noonday  with  thee  by  my  side.  Our  guide 
is  wise,  and  we  shall  not  miss  our  way.  The  deeper  dark 
ness  now  but  shows  the  morn  is  near.  Hark  !  The  surg 
ing  river  is  near;  beyond  it  there  are  liberty  and  joyl 
The  waters  are  cold — cling  close  to  me,  my  Wagh-ta.  On, 
brave  Sh6n-ga  !  There,  we  stand  upon  the  bank. 

"  Farewell,"  our  guide  says :  "  you  are  now  beyond  the 
border  of  the  Land  of  Fire.  Put  many  miles  between  you 
and  this  river  before  the  morning  comes.  Wakanda  bless 
you  !  Wakanda  save  all  His  poor  red  children  as  He  has 
saved  you.  Farewell !" 


It  is  two  years  since  the  good  man  spoke  these  words. 
I  sit  in  a  little  cabin  on  the  shore  of  the  same  shining 
river  whose  smile  is  my  first  remembrance.  But  our 
cabin  stands  not  on  our  old  home.  A  hundred  miles  we 
coursed  along,  the  clear  river,  beyond  the  familiar  old 
haunts,  and  stopped  at  last  where  we  could  find  a  place 
which,  for  the  present  at  least,  is  not  coveted  by  the  white 
man.  There  we  built  us  a  rude  but  comfortable  cabin. 
Through  the  door  I  see  the  fields  I  have  with  so  much  joy 
cultivated.  They  have  given  us  food  and  clothing.  Our 
brave  Sh6n-ga,  that  saved  us  from  the  Land  of  Fire,  grazes 
just  there  by  the  doorstep. 

By  my  side  dear  Wagh-ta  sits  gazing  up  into  my  face 
as  I  write.  She  thinks  it  the  most  wonderful  thing  that 
I  should  dare  to  write  down  our  simple  story  for  the  white 
men  to  read  in  their  magnificent  homes.  There  in  the 
center  of  the  room  si*s  another  dear  object,  with  her  lap 
full  of  roses.  She  laughs  and  crows,  never  thinking  of 
what  her  father  and  mother  have  suffered.  We  call  her 


THE    Tll'O    VOICES.  267 

"  Ma-he-dii-ba,"  because  she  is  a  constant  "  Sunshine  "  in 
our  simple  home,  and  she  was  given  by  Wakanda. 

But  I  dare  not  tell  you  where  our  cabin  stands.  I  fear 
some  one  would  covet  my  poor  possessions,  and  come  to 
drive  us  away ;  and  I  could  not  claim  protection  by  the 
white  man's  law.  We  are  happy  in  our  simple  ways ;  we 
live  in  constant  love,  and  for  recreation  we  put  our  arms 
about  each  other,  take  our  little  "Sunshine"  and  walk 
forth  into  the  world  our  Wakanda  has  made,  and  study 
all  its  beautiful  things.  May  we  not  thus  live,  and  may 
we  not  be  free  ? 

But  my  people — O  my  people  !  I  long  to  do  something 
for  them  in  their  desolation.  Yet  what  can  I  do?  Poor, 
powerless,  I  cannot  help  them  where  they  are,  nor  effect 
their  return  to  their  homes  out  of  that  sad  land  of  death. 

As  I  gaze  out  upon  the  shining  river,  its  roar  becomes 
two  voices  in  my  ear.  One  voice  swells  loudly  from  the 
eastward,  and  cries:  "The  Indian  is  an  evil  thing  in  the 
path  of  civilization ;  he  must  be  burned  off  or  ploughed 
under  as  the  trees  of  the  forest  are  cleared  and  the  weeds 
of  the  prairie  go  down  bfore  our  driving  ploughshares. 
Get  him  off  the  earth,  as  fast  as  musket  balls  and  bad 
whisky  can  do  it !" 

The  other  voice  comes  wailing  from  the  southward, 
and  says  :  "  Are  we  not  human  beings?  Did  not  the  one 
Wakanda  make  us  and  you  ?  We  pray  that  we  may  not 
longer  be  murdered  and  plundered  in  order  to  enrich  a  few 
base  men.  We  pray  that  we  may  have  our  homes  in  peace 
and  safety,  and  be  allowed,  under  just  laws,  to  support  our 
selves  and  our  children.  Let  us  have  our  lands  undis 
turbed  as  the  white  men  do  ;  give  us  teachers  to  aid  and 
instruct  us  in  your  arts  of  industry ;  send  us  good  mis 
sionaries  to  teach  us  from  The  Book  of  morality  and 
religion.  Be  as  just  to  the  first  owners  of  the  land  as  you 


263  PLOUGHED  UNDER. 

are  generous  to  all  other  people  of  the  earth,  and  the 
Indian  too  shall  enrich  the  free  soil  of  America  without 
being  ploughed  under." 

It  is  for  the  Christian  public  to  say  which  voice  in  the 
river  shall  swallow  up  the  other.  Wolf  Killer  the  son  of 
Eagle  Wing  has  spoken. 


THE  END. 


BY  JUDGE  ALBION  W.  TOURGEE. 


A  FOOL'S  ERRAND. 

BY  ONE  OF  THE  FOOLS. 

Handsome  12 mo,  with  Side  Stamp.     .     .     .     Cloth,  $i. 

ABOUT  once  in  a  generation  appears  a  book  that  is  at  once 
and  universally  accepted  as  a  marked  element  in  the  life  and 
literature  of  the  world.  Such  a  work,  at  the  close  of  the  Seven 
teenth  Century,  was  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  one  of  the 
best-known  books  of  human  origin.  In  the  Eighteenth  Century, 
a  period  of  much  cultivated  talent  but  little  genius,  De  Foe's 
"Strange  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe"  startled  the  reading 
public  with  a  narrative  so  apparently  real  that  it  was  received 
with  intense  enthusiasm  as  truth,  and  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  has  remained  one  of  the  unfading  English  classics.  In 
our  own  more  fertile  age,  Walter  Scott's  "  Waverley"  first  burst 
the  bonds  of  stilted  fiction  and  created  the  historical  novel ;  about 
thirty  years  later  Mrs.  Stowe's  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  aroused 
the  world  with  indignation  over  the  wrongs  of  a  race,  and  inau 
gurated  the  novel  with  a  purpose.  And  now,  thirty  years  later, 
appears  another  book,  "A  FOOL'S  ERRAND,  BY  ONE  OF  THE 
FOOLS,"  which  has  seized  upon  the  popular  imagination  and  run 
through  edition  after  edition,  as  fast  as  it  could  be  printed.  It  is 
the  marked  book  of  this  generation. 

"  If  this  book  don't  move  men,  and  u  The  story  will  be  read  with  breath- 
start  the  patriotic  blood  of  the  nation  less  interest.  ' — Hartford  (Conn,)  COM- 
into  warmer  flow,  then  we  have  mis-  rant. 

taken  the  American  people,"— Chicago  ..  What  is  most  remarkable  about  the 

Inter-Ocean.  book  is  the  spirit  of  fairness  that  per- 

,                         ,  vades  it." — Philadelphia  Times. 

Abounds    m    sketches    not    to    be  .                       * 

matched  in  the  whole  range  of  modern  It  is  rare  to  find  an  author  with 

fiction.     The  author's  keen  insight  into  wrongs  before  him  like  those  which  are 

character    gives    him    a    power   which  portrayed    in   'A  Fools  Errand,    who 

never    relaxes    to   the  end  ;    while   his  has  the  courage  to  turn    so  clearly  as 

»kill  in  dialogue  and  humorous  touches  he  does,  the  best  side  of  the  wrong-doer 

add  greatly  to  the  charm  of  the  story."  before  one.     .     .     .,    It  is,  as  we  have 

-Boston  Traveller.  said,  for    its  historical  value   that   the 

book  will  be  read,  but  the  causes  which 

"  A  political  and  social  study    .     .     .  have   made   it   worth   reading  on    this 

which    is   pursued  with   great   candor,  side  have  conspired  to  render  u  also  a 

and    no    small    discrimination." — The  strong  piece  of  novel- work. "—A  tlantic 

Nation  (N.  Y.).  Monthly. 

FORDS,  HOWARD  &  HULBEKT, 

£7  Park  Place, 

NEW   YORK. 


'Undoubtedly  the  chief  of  American  writers"— -TROY  SENTINEL. 


BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW. 


A    NOVEL. 

By  the  Author  of  "A  Fool's  Errand." 
Handsome   I2ino,    with   Frontispiece   Illustration,    cloth,   $1.50. 

"A  regular  literary  brick,  with  straw  or  without.  *  *  *  Since  the  days  of 
Swift  and  his  pamphleteers,  we  doubt  if  fiction  has  been  made  to  play  so  caustic 
and  delicate  a  part." — San  Francisco  News  Letter. 

"The  most  exalted  expectations  will  be  entirely  satisfied  by  this  remarkable 
and  delightful  book.  It  is  destined  to  take  even  a  deeper  hold  upon  public  sym 
pathy  than  the  work  already  famous." — N.  V.  Examiner  and  Chronicle. 

"  The  depth  of  insight  into  the  social  problems  of  which  it  treats  appears  to  me 
greater  than  that  displayed  in  its  immediate  predecessor.  The  delicacy  and  keen 
ness  of  its  satire  are  equal  to  anything  within  the  range  of  my  knowledge." — Pres 
ident  ANDERSON,  Rochester  University. 

"The  characters  are  real  creations  of  romance,  who  will  live  alongside  of  Mrs. 
Stowe's  or  Walter  Scott's  till  the  times  that  gave  them  birth  have  been  forgotten." — 
The  Advance,  Chicago. 

"  Considered  with  reference  to  its  interest  as  a  story,  the  book  is  greatly  in 
advance  of  'A  Fool's  Errand.'"— N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  In  his  terse  and  pleasing  style,  in  his  admirable  delineation  of  character  and 
forcible  illustration  of  great  truths,  Judge  Tourgee  has  placed  himself  in  the  front 
rank  of  American  writers." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"The  author  has  finished  his  work  with  the  accuracy  of  an  eye-witness,  and 
with  the  brilliancy  of  a  master  mind." — Kansas  City  Journal. 


FORDS,  HOWARD  &  HULBERT, 

PUBLISHERS,  27  PARK  PLACE,  N.  Y. 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  EARNEST  MAN. 


FIGS  AND  THISTLES: 

A  Romance  of  the  Western  Reserve, 
BY  ALBION  W.  TOURGEE, 

Author  of  "  A  Fool's  Errand." 

I2W0,  CM/i,  Handsome  Side  Stamp.     .     .     Price^  $1.50. 

ll'ITH  FRONTISPIECE. 

THE  pen  which  so  vividly  portrayed  the  moral  and  political 
status  of  the  South  in  "A  Fool's  Errand"  has  not  less  graphically 
delineated  in  "  Figs  and  Thistles"  the  social  and  moral  atmos 
phere  of  the  Western  Reserve,  where  GENERAL  GARMELD  was 
born  and  reared.  To  appreciate  the  life  and  character  of  him 
who  has  become  the  President  of  the  United  States,  every  one 
should  read  this  book.  He  is  simply  an  outgrowth  of  the  life 
there  described.  Indeed,  if  some  shrewd  critics  may  be  trusted, 
the  barefoot  boy,  student,  lawyer,  colonel,  general,  Congress 
man,  Senator,  and  possibly  President,  may  be  discovered  in  even 
more  intimate  relations  with  the  scheme  of  this  novel.  No 
American  can  afford  to  be  without  this  vivid  picture  of  the 
home  of  Wade  and  Giddings  and  Garfield  and  the  civilization 
from  which  they  spring. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  Judge  Tourgee's  works,  and 
one  which  has  done  much  to  give  his  "Poofs  Errand"  its  vast 
popularity,  is  his  intense  realism  and  strong  sense  of  local  color 
ing.  "  Figs  and  Thistles"  has  been  very  generally  described  by 
the  press  as  an  "Ohio  book,"  "  a  Western  Reserve  romance," 
"the  Western  Reserve  in  romantic  miniature,"  etc.  Many  de 
clare  that  so  life-like  is  the  portraiture,  that  the  models  of  the 
characters,  although,  of  course  (and  very  properly),  not  to  be 
identified  in  all  incidents  of  their  careers,  can  easily  be  distin 
guished. 

OPINIONS    OF    THE  PRESS. 

"It   is,  we   think,  evident   that   the  "  Tourge*  is  undoubtedly  the  chief 

hero    of  the   book    is    the    Republican  of   American    writers." — Troy    Scnti- 

candidate  for  President,  Gen.  JAMES  A.  r.el. 
GARFIKLD.     The  author  has  indulged 

in  the  novelist's  license,  and  the  story  "Close  observers  of  our  political  his- 

is  not,  of  course,  a  biography.     But  the  tory  will  not  be  at  a  loss  to  discover 

author  evidently  models  the  career  of  the  originals  from  whom  the  author  has 

his  hero  upon   the  life    of  Gen.   GAR-  drawn    his     characters." — Burlington 

FIELD.     The  book  is  worth  reading  for  Free  Press  and  Times. 
itself,  but  the  fact  we  have  stated  makes 

it  an  unusually  attractive  volume.  It  "It  is  a  representative  American 
is.  in  many  respects,  one  of  the  best  novel,  and  deals  with  characters  en- 
books  of  the  period."— A  tckison(Kan.)  tirely  new  and  fresh,  but  altogether 
Champion.  real."— Hartford  Courant. 

FORDS,  HOWARD  &  HULBERT,  Publishers, 

27   Park   Place,  New  York. 


-A- 


CHEVALIER    WIKOFF'S 

REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  IDLER, 

BY  HENRY  WIKOFF, 
Author  of  "  My  Courtship  and  its  consequences,"  "Adventures  of  a 

Roving  Diplomatist,"  etc.,  etc. 
60i  pp.,  Octavo.    Steel  Portrait.    Price,  $1.75. 


Being  a  man  of  fortune  and  excellent 
social  position,  his  opportunities  for 
observation  have  evidently  been  un 
usually  good,  and  his  use'  of  them  is 
proved  by  his  very  readable  book  to 
have  been  both  apt  and  admirable." 
— Buffalo  Coztrier. 

The  Chevalier  WikofFg  charming 
•  Reminiscences  of  an  Idler '  met  with 
a  flattering  reception  from  the  critics, 
who  did  not  know  just  what  to  look 
for,  and  were  evidently  better  pleased 
than  they  had  expected  to  be.  The 
reading  public  are  interested  to  see 
through  the  eyes  of  an  educated  and 
cultured  American  gentleman  scenes 
and  characters  for  which  they  have 
hitherto  been  mainly  dependent  upon 
foreign  sources."  —  Christian  Re- 


"  Mr.  Wikoff  (who  bears  the  title  of 
'Chevalier'  as  Knight  Commander 
of  a  Spanish  order — an  honor  con 
ferred  in  recognition  of  some  skillful 
service  to  royalty)  has  been  a  familiar 
figure  for  more  than  forty  years  in 
Europe  and  America,  and  his  'Rem 
iniscences'  deal  with  almost  every 
body  of  note  that  anybody  ever  heard 
of." — Literary  ll'orld. 

"  The  charm  of  this  book,  which* blends 
autobiography  with  reminiscences  of 
noted  persons,  and  not  a  little  rapid 
and  interesting  hfstory,  is  that  it  is 
written  in  a  simple,  good  way,  and 
never  presents  us  with  an  anecdote 
or  a  reminiscence  that  is  not  interest 
ing.  The  '  Chevalier  '  is  never  dull." 
—Hartford  Times. 

"  Has  at  once  taken  its  place  among  the 
most  racy  of  recent  memoirs.  .  .  . 

William    Cullen   Sri/ant's    Famous   Book    of  Poetry. 

THE  FAMILY  LIBRARY  of  POETRYISONG. 

Being-  2000  Selections  from  600  of  the  best  Pods,  English,  Scottish,  Irish  and 

A  merican,  including  translations  from  Ancient  andModern 

Languages.     Carefully  revised,  and  printed 

handsomely  from  entirely  new  plates. 

With  an  Introductory  Treatise  by  the  venerable  Editor  on 
the  "  Poets  and  Poetry  of  the  English  Language."  Including 
JAMES  GRANT  WILSON'S  New  Biography  of  Bryant.  1065  pp., 
8vo.  With  full  indexes  of  the  Poems,  by  Authors  and  by  First 
Lines,  and  an  elaborate  Index  of  Quotations  by  which  any  poetical  • 
quotation,  of  which  the  volume  contains  all  that  are  recognized 
as  famous,  can  be  readily  found.  Illustrated  with  a  new  Steel 
Portrait  of  Mr.  Bryant,  many  Autographic  Fac-Similes  of  Cele 
brated  Poets,  and  Sixteen  Full-page  Wood  Engravings.  Cloth, 
Gilt,  $5  ;  Library  Leather,  $6  ;  Half  Morocco  Gilt,  $7.50  ;  Turkey 
Morocco,  $10. 


**  We  know  of  no  similar  collection  in 
the  English  language  which,  in  copi 
ousness  and  felicity  of  selection  and 
arrangement,  can  at  all  compare  with 
it."— A7".  Y.  Times. 

"  With  all  Mr.  Bryant's  contributions 
to  poetry  and  social  science,  we  doubt 
if  no  has  done  one  service  greater 
than  the  collection  of  this  admira 
ble  bowk  of  poetry.'1—  Cincinnati 
C'i r:'s.'. a n  Sia n.iard. 


'  While  Mr.  Bryant  has  added  no  little 
to  the  richness  of  the  world's  treasures 
by  the  creations  of  his  own  thought, 
we  cannot  avoid  the  conviction  that 
this  library  of  selections  is  among  his 
greatest  services  to  the  average  read 
er.  In  this  hurried  life  one  cannot 
afford  to  wasta  much  time  on  inferior 
productions.  It  is  half  the  battle  to 
know  what  to  read."— A7.  Y,  Chris* 
iitin  Advocate, 


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